Badblood
by AriannaK
Summary: An ooman pregnant with a badblood's child is recovered from Earth, and against her will, made to live on yautja planet...and her caretaker/overseer falls in love with her... (Warning: rated M for adult, sexual content and violence.) Please R&R! COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Keta-ki leaned forward from the ship's throne chair, and his claws angrily whisked away the hologram controls. His search had taken him to many planets, and now finally to Earth. Keta-ki's yellow eyes settled on the lushly green, mountainous terrain before him. His mandibles flared some, and chest pulsed with a low growl. If the badblood was hiding there, he would find him, and end him.

Nestled among the rocks were ooman villages, so stealth would be of the utmost importance. Kata-ki rose from the chair, and walked through the billowing white fog to a wall of weapons and masks. He selected a wolf bio mask from the ornate shelves, and placed it over his face. It conformed to the curves of his head and hung on snugly. His claws then reached for a thick leather belt, and he secured it around his waist.

He adorned black armor made from the very hardmeats he had defeated in his chiva years ago. For his weapons, he chose a constricting net, a laser cage, arm blades rather than the wrist blades, a shurkin, and a combi stick, among others. This would not be his first trip to Earth by far, but it would be the first time he'd followed a badbood to the planet. He did not see the purpose of going to earth. There were many other planets with better places to hide, refuel, and find food.

Some badbloods became drifters, hopping from planet to planet for survival. Some badbloods were banished and never seen again, as there were other alien societies that would take them in. Others kept illegally returning to the yautja home planet or meddled with yautja affairs. These badbloods that continued to break rules were the ones that were hunted down and ruthlessly slaughtered. As executioner, it was Keta-ki's job to carry out the badbloods sentence.

His job as executioner was similar to that of a bounty hunter. His reward would be praise and honor, as well as a monetary sum. If he proved worthy at this job, his status would slowly be raised. Kata-ki hoped that his title would be changed from executioner to arbitrator in the near future. Until then, he was just an omen of death.

The craft settled on a high mountain plateau and Keta-ki emerged from the ship into the endless darkness. It was equipped with an automatic defense system that would vaporize any large living creature that dared touch it. The sensory system would only let him aboard, with or without his wrist controls. It was also strong enough to withstand substantial blasts, and so he did not worry about leaving it unattended with a badblood in the area. He steadily headed down the mountainside.

Fireflies danced in his view of the ooman village below him. He would have to search around the ooman dwellings as well, but first he headed for the sparse tree cover to see if he could find any sign of the badblood. Though the tropical vegetation was sparse up in the mountains, there was still places to hide. The yellow eyes behind his mask scanned the ground for any dried blood from kills the other yautja may have made. As he made his way through, he was careful not to produce any noise or disturb so much as a single leaf.

If the badblood heard him coming, he would likely run. Criminals were, more often than not, cowards. So he moved with skillful stealth, pausing at any sign of movement. He tilted his head up, the moonlight illuminating his mask as he examined the treetops. Tiny raindrops fell to his skin, which was peach, with dark black mottling and hints of pink.

He didn't spot any sign of a cloaking device among the branches. He didn't find any footprints on the ground or signs of weapon fire. When he found no visible trace of the badblood in the rainforest, Keta-ki headed towards the village. He followed among the worn paths, his mask penetrating the buildings walls and glimpsing inside. Systematically, he searched for foreign metals, technology wavelengths, and anything else that might give the badblood away.

Keta-ki passed a building with a symbol on the roof that matched a part of the necklace he wore. It was a collection of small objects from kills he'd made, strung together over the metal bands around his neck. It included things from earth as well as other planets. Along with the cross that matched the one on the building, there was also a piece of rock, bones, a carved totem, and other pendants that built up the necklace. He scoured that building as well, but found nothing that he was looking for.

Finally, he decided to cheat. On the previous planet, he had gotten close enough to the badblood to fight him. After long-range guns, it went to shorter range weapons, then hand to hand combat. Keta-ki had been close enough that he smelled his opponent's foul breath as they locked arms and wrestled. The badblood escaped that time, but under his nails from scratching him, and on his blade from cutting him, was DNA that could be used against the badblood.

His wrist controls had already been injected with a sample of DNA, so all he had to do was change his vision mode. It would highlight the tiniest bits of DNA, even from skin cells lost due to touching an object. Keta-ki wandered around the perimeter of the village, and spotted a patch of glowing orange on the trunk of a tree. The badbloods shoulder likely brushed the tree when walking. He followed a subtle trail of highlighted DNA to an ooman dwelling.

The house was small, made from red stacked bricks with a pale clay tile roof. It had a porch on the front where the roof hung over the front door. It looked very plain, except for the glowing orange handprints on the roof, and the door handle. This was the only dwelling the badblood had touched, and it looked as if he'd gone inside. Though a quick scan reveled that the badblood was not present, Keta-ki was compelled to search inside the dwelling.

He wrapped his fist around the door handle and pushed it forward, breaking the frame easily. Keta-ki ducked through the doorframe and looked around. Inside the room was dusted with DNA, as though the badblood had spent considerable time in the room. It was possible that the badblood was repeatedly stealing food from the house, or hiding in an ooman dwelling thinking that no one would search inside. Still, the badbloods presence in the house seemed unnatural.

Keta-ki returned his vision mode to normal and was just about the leave when he heard movement within the house. His body tensed, and his mahogany-colored dreds swung as he sharply turned his head. An ooman walked towards the door, examining the splintered wood. It was a female with darker skin, long hair in curls, wearing a long sleeved shirt and no bottoms. Diagnostics reveled that she was pregnant, and so Kata-ki would sneak from the house without disturbing her further.

He silently walked towards her, aiming to slip out the door right in front of her. The ooman shifted, bringing up the gun in her hands, and shot him. Keta-ki stumbled back, falling over a piece of furniture. Bright green blood spilled down his chest. Cloaked and in the dark, it was almost impossible for an ooman to have seen him.

As she went to pull the trigger again, Keta-ki quickly rose up and out of the way. The bullets hit the broken furniture where he'd just been, then she swung her arms over, aiming for him again. He should have been invisible to her. With a frustrated growl, he smashed his fists into her hand, causing her to drop the weapon. As she backed away, he grabbed the gun off the floor.

He crushed the gun in his palm, and dropped the pieces to his feet. To his surprise, the ooman ran at him and attacked. She grabbed for his sensitive dreads and the decorative hanging beads among them. He blocked her but she was a determined little thing. Her foot jammed into his long metal crotch guard.

She was aiming for his vulnerable spots, as though she knew what he was. Keta-ki quickly recovered from his surprise and thrust his claws around her throat. He lifted her up into the air as her legs kicked under her uselessly. He stared into her eyes as she struggled, one of which was green while the other was half-green and half-blue. However, it was not honorable to kill a pregnant female, even if she was just an animal.

He dropped her to the floor unceremoniously, and she heaved in ragged breaths before shouting at him. He did not speak any ooman languages, so he simply stared at her pink lips. She had seen him even though he should have been invisible. She had attacked him, quite viciously, and not without skill. On a whim, he changed the vision mode and watched her belly light up with orange.


	2. Chapter 2

The baby growing in her womb shared the badblood's DNA. The woman got to her feet, backing away from him as her eyes frantically searched around the room. He could not kill her, as the child was part yautja. He could not leave her though, a she was still an ooman and she knew of his kind. Keta-ki was not an arbitrator, and so he could not decide the female fate.

He would have to bring her before an arbitrator or elder for questioning and judgement. She lunged at the wall to grab a decorative metal candle holder from its hook. She was not going to go quietly. He made a delighted clicking noise, ready for a pursuit and takedown, ready for a hunt. He turned off device and she pointed the candle holder at him as though it was a sword.

He puffed his chest up some as he walked towards her, trying to intimidate her with his size and strength. She was several feet shorter than him, wielding a candle holder, and dressed in nothing but a long red shirt and underwear. She should have been terrified. She'd seen his kind before though, and held her ground. As Keta-ki grabbed for her, she slipped away.

He had to be careful not harm her. Keta-ki stalked towards her, shoving furniture out of his way. As she steadily backed away, he had her cornered. She bent her knees as he closed the gap between them. His claws reached down towards her.

She was not done fighting just yet though. The girl sprang up and jammed the metal candle holder into his throat. It hardly fazed him. She tried to escape to the side but in his anger he grabbed her and hauled her above his head as she thrashed. He threw her down onto the couch and she tumbled into the floor, taking a couch cushion with her.

Keta-ki quickly descended on her, pinning down her arms. Her lips quivered as she began to cry. He had a pair of restraints on his belt and he locked them around her wrists-they were almost too big for her, but still worked. Trying his best to be gentle, he grabbed her forearm and hauled her upright. She squirmed some, but then lowered her head.

He yanked her forward, and peered outside. No one seemed to have heard their struggle, but he re-engaged his closing device and pulled her out of the house. She drug her feet, but he hauled her up the mountainside, all the way to his ship. Tears were still leaking from her eyes as he tapped his wrist controls and had the door open. She began to talk again in a language that was already foreign to him, and with her sobbing, there was no way for him even to distinguish the words.

Once in the ship, he grabbed a metal triangle from his belt and tossed it to the floor. The object disappeared in the fog but he could see the four red dots spread apart. He shoved the girl into the center of the red dots perimeter, and a laser cage rose up around her, trapping her inside. She pouted, pressing her hands to the transparent red walls a to try and escape. He knew very well that she would not be going anywhere, so he was free to sit back down in his throne.

Keta-ki brought up the hologram controls, and the ship purred to life. It smoothly rose away from the green mountains and then stars began to zip in front of the screen in a rushed blur. The screen went completely black as he pushed the ship at greater speeds. He set the course for the yautja home planet, then his thoughts returned to the ooman female. He silently leaned to one side in his chair then peered behind him at the cage.

She looked miserable. The ooman was sitting on the floor with one palm holding her face as the other hand stiffly held her shirt down over her crotch area. He suddenly rose from his chair and stomped out of the room, remembering something. In with his other gear was an emergency translator. It knew every language the yautjas had translated, every dialect, and kept up with new words and sayings.

It was a terribly expensive and delicate piece of equipment that had to be placed near the spinal cord or the brain to be used. He hoped that it would not be wasted if he put it on her. Keta-ki went to the medical bay and grabbed the injection gun, then headed back. She hardly lifted her head as he circled the cage. He could reach into the cage while it was still activated.

Deciding that it would be a waste of breath to try and explain his actions, Keta-ki thrust his hand past the wall of red and seized her by her hair. He held her to the ground and pressed the needle of the injector to the base of her skull. She started to scream as he pulled the trigger. The pain should have been brief, but even after he let her go, she continued to sob and shake. He put the injection gun away then came back to stand in front of the cage.

"How did you meet the badblood? How long ago did you last see him?" It wasn't his job to interrogate her, but he was curious, "How long have you known him?"

She slowly lifted her head but she wouldn't meet his eyes, "He will kill you. If you hurt me, he will find you and kill you."

"Who?"

"My mate. He said that there were badblood yautjas after him that would hunt me like an animal, that would take my child away. He will save me, and he will kill you!"

He tilted his head at her, wondering just how many untruths she'd been feed by the badblood, "Your mate has lied to you. He is the badblood. He was banished from the home planet for theft. However, he was involved in a political assassination and that is why I was sent after him."

"No. Your the liar! My mate left the yautja society because it was corrupted."

"He killed an important yautja, as well as his mate, leaving their young child orphaned."

"He wouldn't do that! You're the one that kidnapped me. You're the badblood. I've done nothing wrong!"

"It is illegal for him to have an ooman mate on earth." He said matter-of-factly.

"Who are you to say who he can and can't be mates with? He loves me."

Keta-ki let out a low growl, but decided not to press the issue. He left her alone for a few minutes to put away the weapons and get out of the armor. After that, he contacted his employer and the clan leader to set up a meeting to discuss everything. It wasn't a very long journey, so he didn't bother to offer her food or water. If she had to use the bathroom at all, she never asked, and so he didn't take her.

The ship landed on the roof of the clan house, and then was lowered down to the basement. As soon as he disabled the cage, the girl took off running. There was no where for her to go however, and Keta-ki was much more agile than she was. He grabbed her arm, trying not to dig his claws into her soft skin, and drug her from the ship. Everyone stared as he pulled her through the halls to the conference room.

As he thrust open the doors, Keta-ki was not surprised to see that there was an elder in the room. He didn't dare look the elder in the eyes, but he observed the branded mark on his forehead and the runes carved into his very tusks. The air seemed thinner when in the presence of any elder. Keta-ki quickly thrust his hand over the oomans mouth, and made her bow with him. Any disrespect from her might just get them both killed-and though speaking in a foreign tongue to an elder was a mistake, she could now disrespect him in his own language and that was worse.

Keta-ki waited to stand up straight until the elder spoke, "Why do you bring prey before me?"

"Elder, I was trailing the badblood Uri when I came across her on Earth. She is only a few weeks pregnant, but she carries the badblood's child."

The room filled with snarls and growls from the other yautjas, but the elder was silent.

Keta-ki continued, "The badblood was already gone. He left nothing of yautja origin, no weapons or technology-only her. I found no evidence of further crimes."

The elder spoke again, "The ooman must be dealt with."

The clan leader stepped forward, offering his opinion, "We can use her to lure the badblood back."

A different yautja disagreed, "If he did not take her along or stay to protect his unborn child, then he doesn't care for her. Using her as a lure won't work."

"She is of no use to us then." The elder said calmly.

Keta-ki's employer, an honored arbitrator, spoke up next, "Cut the child from her belly. It can be artificially incubated, and we can dispose of the soft meat female."


	3. Chapter 3

The girl began to squirm violently in his grasp, screaming through his hand that covered her mouth. He could feel her rapidly beating heart as he restrained her, and could smell her fear. Warm tears ran over his fingers as he started to cry. The badblood had been partially right-they would hunt her and steal her child. He stood there like a cold statue as she struggled, but his eyes slowly glanced downward at her.

Her face was red, and her eyes glazed over with tears. She was looking up at him, begging him to help her. Keta-ki had seen oomans brought to this point before-distraught and helpless. Up until then, he had slaughtered them all without remorse. Something about her was different though.

Keta-ki spoke up, "Elder, she has broken no laws. She was lied to and taken advantage of by the badblood. The child growing up knowing that his sire was a badblood and that his mother was killed may not be beneficial."

"She will need to be monitored, to make sure that she doesn't try to contact the badblood or aid him in any way. Oomans are never as innocent as they may seem." The elder said darkly.

This time, one of the elders bodyguards interrupted, "My mate and I already have one ooman servant, and know of their care requirements. I will take her in, and I'm sure my mate will accept the child as her own once it is born. The ooman will be well protected and cared for."

The elder tipped his head down some, giving consent.

As the guard walked forward to collect the female, Keta-ki lowered his mouth to her ear, "If you speak out irrationally, the elder has the power to rip your heart from your chest in a fleeting instant. Go quietly if you wish to live."

The guard stopped a few feet in front of them. Keta-ki slowly peeled his hand away from her mouth, then nudged her forward. His body was tense, ready for her to reach for one if the guards many weapons, though the guard would likely have her in the ground before he could react if that were to happen. Still, the ooman was not going to listen to his advice and go quietly. He saw her pink lips begin to part and knew she intended to speak before she'd said anything.

"I want to stay with him instead." She pointed back at Keta-ki.

He was disarmed for a moment, but realized that everyone was staring at him. They were waiting for his response, and so he spoke without thinking, "I can take her."

The elder hesitated, and then said, "If you are certain that is the best option, then you may watch over her."

"She only wants to stay with you because she thinks that will prevent the badblood from being caught." The guard huffed.

Keta-ki took that in consideration, but said, "There are others willing to after the badblood."

He didn't comment on the child she was going to give birth to, undecided as to whether he'd raise it as his own or give it up for adoption. Now that he was thinking about it, he wasn't sure what to do with the girl either. Her life was short in comparison to his own, yet she was still a long commitment. The ooman was going to be a handful, while Keta-ki had hoped to dedicate himself to his work to become an arbitrator. He'd never had a weakness for oomans before, and hoped that it was only because he'd skipped several breeding seasons that he was even somewhat attracted to her.

"This meeting is dismissed." The elder walked from the room with the two guards behind him.

Keta-ki reached for the girl but she yanked her arm away. "I can walk on my own." She hissed.

As they walked through the halls back to his ship, she did not hesitate to remind him just how much of a handful she was going to be. In a single breath, she demanded that he get her some pants, shoes, a drink of water, a comb for her hair, and that he walk slower. Back in the ship, they rose through the center of the building to the roof. It was only a few minute ride to his house. It was right on the edge of the city, with other single houses scattered around it.

He slowly led her inside, ready to catch her if she decided to run. The female was eerily calm though. She confidently trotted into the house, looking at his decorations. There were more trinkets like the ones around his neck, as well as weapons, and skulls. He looked away from her for a second to operate his wrist controls, having the house lock all the rooms.

When he looked up at her, her hands were hovering around a polished white skull sitting in the middle of a table. A lump formed in his throat. Arousal was a normal reaction for his species when a female admired a trophy kill, but he knew better. Still, he couldn't tear his eyes away. Her palms gently swept over the smooth surface of the skull, then she lifted it of the table.

"It's from a rare creature. Not many yautjas have even heard of it's kind." He stated.

She turned to face him, and lifted the skull up over her head. Keta-ki was too shocked to move fast enough. The ooman forcefully threw the skull to the floor, and it splintered into several pieces. His yellow eyes stared down at it, his body filling with rage and his surroundings fading. The chords on his neck drew tight and his hands clenched into tight fists at his side.

"That's for kidnapping me!" She cried.

His mandible began to flare apart and his eyes flickered to her. He could not control his rage. The table was a cluster of three metal hexagonal prisms that looked similar to growing crystals. Keta-ki surged forward and grabbed one of the heavy prisms and slammed it against the wall. The second prism he kicked across the room, and the third he lifted up and threw at her head.

The girl ducked just in time and the prism hit the floor behind her and rolled. Still seething with anger, he stepped towards the ooman, intent on teaching her a lesson. She dropped to the floor at his feet, and as he reached for her, she curled herself into a tight ball. He began to take in labored breaths, trying to remind himself that she was pregnant. Keta-ki backed away from her, and quickly disposed of the pieces of shattered bone from the skull.

The girl stood to her feet, but began to back away from him, "You're a monster."

He let out a warning growl, then proceeded to take the rest of the skulls off the walls and hid them behind a locked door. She watched him as he removed the weapons as well, and locked them out of her reach. After all the collectables were hidden as well, the room looked barren but still not quite dull. The dark gray walls had sweeping patterns to them, and were dotted with symbols. She scurried out of his way when he came near her, afraid of him, and it was putting him on edge.

He decided to try and sooth her, "I never asked your name."

She ran her fingers through her long, dark, curled hair, "My name is Zuri...and yours?"

"Keta-ki."

"Kehtaacki? Sounds like some type of chicken dish."

So far the conversation was not helping, but he asked, "Do you have a name for the child yet?"

"No...I can't decide." That seemed to distract her, and she began to pat her belly lightly.

"It is male."

She glared up at him, "I want a girl. I prayed for a girl, and it WILL be a baby girl."

She was mistaken, just as she was about her mate. She had hardly even a bump at her belly, and it could have easily just passed as a little fat. Still, for an ooman at least, the baby's genitals began to develop at as early as six weeks. With the advanced technology of his bio masks diagnostic scans, he could easily tell that the child was forming into a male. He didn't understand why she would be upset about it; even in some ooman cultures male babies seemed to be more valued.

"I'm leaning towards the name Kiara." She said.

"I hope that is a male name from where you're from." He grumbled.

She clenched her teeth together, "It's not."

Figuring that she might be hungry, he went to the kitchen and picked it a few different types of meat for her to try. As they cooked, he brought her they glass of water she'd asked for earlier. His technology was much more advanced than any ooman appliances, and within minutes he had freshly cooked and seasoned meat. Though he'd eaten recently, the invigorating smell of it tempted him. As she entered the kitchen though, she seemed to get an opposite reaction.

One hand went to her stomach, while the other covered her mouth. He knew very well that the meat was safe for ooman consumption, but wondered if it did not appeal to her pallet. She stared at the heaping pile of food as he slid the plate closer, and gagged. Keta-ki stepped in front of her then, wondering if she was ill. As soon as he did, she doubled over and vomited up all over his feet.


	4. Chapter 4

Keta-ki let out a dark growl as he stared down at the throw up all over his feet. However, he really couldn't be angry at her. Morning sickness and vomiting, even to the smell or sight or certain foods, was not uncommon for a pregnant ooman. It was not her fault. He tenderly held her hair out of the way, but she seemed finished.

Her eyes glazed over as she wiped her mouth, and then she mumbled, "I wanna go to bed."

Since he didn't have a guest room, she'd be sleeping in his bed until he got another, "Take a bath first."

He showed her to the bathroom, and she washed off her face, then tried to leave. Keta-ki blocked her. When she tried to squeeze past him, he lightly growled at her. She whined as a response.

"Throw me your clothes and I'll have them washed and dried before your out of the bath." He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face the tub.

Once he showed her how to use the faucet, she said, "Turn around. You better not peek."

He let out a snort, and turned away from her. He'd seen plenty of naked females before, ooman ones even. Her body was nothing special. Still, he found himself listening to her movements intently, his skin warming as he tried to picture her actions. Suddenly, a sopping wet cloth hit the back of his neck.

Keta-ki spun around to snarl at the girl. The water was up to her neck and her arms were tightly wrapped around her chest. She was glaring at him, and he had no idea what he'd done this time to set her off. He grabbed the dripping wet shirt, and her pink panties, then stormed from the room. As he waited for her to finish, he washed her clothes and ordered a bed to be delivered to the house.

When she started yelling, he figured that she was done but didn't know where towels were, and didn't know how to use the drying machine. At her request, he assisted her with his eyes closed. Then, he showed her to his bed and watched her destroy it. She tossed more than half of the ornate furs to the floor, balled up others, then crawled under the rest of the pelts. When his new bed arrived, he left it in the living room, and collapsed in the middle of it to try to sleep.

Strange noises woke him up several times, as he was a light sleeper, and was not used to hearing anyone else in his house. He listened to her turning, yawning, kicking, and murmuring things in her sleep. When he was just about to fall back asleep again, Zuri began to pant and whine as she tossed in bed. It was not uncommon for oomans to have more vivid nightmares when pregnant. Keta-ki finally decided to go check on her.

He lifted himself out of bed and walked to his bedroom and slid open the door. She was sweating, her hands balled around the edge of a fur pelt. He hovered over her, unsure if he should wake her or not. When her breathing began to pick up, he started to purr to her. Almost instantly, her body relaxed.

As he continued, her breathing calmed and she pulled a fur up to her chin. He stayed by the side of the bed for a few minutes before he left her. Then, Keta-ki flopped back into his bed in the middle of the living room. Something about her just wore him out. It was several hours before she woke him up again, but this time was different. Keta-ki didn't shift, just trying to listen and interpret what she was doing.

It was the subtle sound of the bedroom door being slowly opened that had woken him. He could hear her slow breathing as well as every step she took. His hearing was better than hers, and she probably thought she was moving silently. He waited to see if she would enter the bathroom. Instead, he heard her walk right up to his bed.

Smell was what gave her away then, opposed to sound. Her scent was usually tempting and sweet, but was now tainted with fear and adrenaline. She thought to attack him while he slept, he was sure of it. He had removed all of the weapons, but back on earth she had used a candleholder. There were several heavy objects around his house that she could have grabbed with the intention if bashing his head in.

He wasn't going to give her the chance to try. Keta-ki swiveled to face her, and quickly grabbed her before she could react. Whatever object she had in her hands dropped to the floor with a deep thud as he pulled her into bed with him. She struggled and screamed, but he was more powerful than her. Keta-ki flipped her body under him and held her down.

"It is very poor sport to attack an opponent when they are at their weakest." He whispered.

"Get off of me! Let me go! Let me go! Please, I'm sorry!"

He released her and she scrambled out of the bed and ran back to the bedroom, making sure to slide the door closed behind her. He heard her climb into the bed and then the room was quiet. The elder was right-oomans were never as innocent as they seemed. Still, that little event proved that she wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He relaxed in the bed, enjoying her scent on it while it lasted.

In the morning, he prepared a full breakfast, only for her to eat a few bites then say she wasn't hungry. Zuri went back to the bedroom and slid the door closed. With some time to himself, he did some paperwork, ordered some clothes for the girl, and did some light cleaning. Only about an hour later, the door to the bedroom opened. Keta-ki glanced over, finding her leaning against the doorframe.

"I'm starving."

He dropped what he was doing to go into the kitchen. She turned around and headed back to the bedroom. Keta-ki sliced up a fruit, put it on a plate, and brought it to her. She had all the furs rolled up at the front of the bed so she could sit upright against them. As soon as she saw what he had, she seemed dissatisfied.

"That's it? I said I was starving. I don't want fruit."

Keta-ki thrust the plate into her lap anyway, "I am not your butler. Remember that I saved your life."

As he turned and left, she shouted, "Bring me something to drink!"

Though his agitation with her was growing, he went into the kitchen and scoured the shelves for something special. He measured vitamin powder and mixed it with sugar and juice. Then, he added a few drops of a liquid that would help ease her upset stomach and prevent her from puking. He went into the bedroom, finding that she'd eaten all the fruit on the plate. He handed

her and grabbed the empty plate from her.

She took one tiny sip from the drink and gagged, "This tastes like medication!"

"Drink it. It is good for you."

"No thanks." She tried to hand it back.

"Drink it."

She grit her teeth, "I don't want to."

"Drink it!"

"No!" She threw the contents of the cup in his face.

The liquid dripped down his face, and Keta-ki let out a bellowing roar of anger. Zuri recoiled from him and covered her ears. When she started to scream though, he went silent, realizing that he could damage her eardrums. She stared at him, her hands still over her ears, and she started to cry. He huffed, began a deep and steady purr, but she kicked at his chest.

"Get away from me!"

"I'm sorry."

"Go away!" She sniffled and sobbed and when Keta-ki didn't budge she whimpered, "They're

going to kill Uri."

He was hesitant to answer, but eventually admitted, "He is detrimental to the yautja race. Since he has failed to correct his behaviours, his sentence is death."

She stared to cry harder and babbled, "I always just thought that he would go to jail or something and I'd never see him again. But that elder said to kill me and I guess I realized that your race is as cruel as Uri said it was...That was what I dreamt last night, that the elder killed him."

Keta-ki wiped off his face and sat on the edge of the bed, "How did you meet him?"

"I was mugged, and bleeding pretty bad. My house was closer than the hospital, but I ran into Uri on the way. He healed me. It was like magic. Then, he just disappeared...but later that night when he came into my house, I was scared, but I offered him food...and it went from there."

She lightly rubbed her belly as she said, "It was years before he even touched me. Which, by the way, was more decent than any guy I'd met back at home. He didn't do the things you said, he couldn't have."

Keta-ki clicked his tusks together for a moment, then asked, "Do you love him?"

He expected an immediate yes from her, but instead she hesitated, then said a weak, "Yea."


	5. Chapter 5

Beside green mountains, she walked the footpaths through the shanty houses. Farther down the hillside to her left was a view of the town. Zuri walked to and from work everyday. Usually she got home just before dark, but occasionally helping lock up the shop took longer. The sun was dipping below the horizon, and it got dark fast.

Her long wavy hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore a full skirt. She slung her bag over her shoulder and started walking. The streets were empty most of the way, until two guys came around the corner. Zuri was not afraid, but cautious. She almost took a different route, but was sure she recognized one of the boys as a neighbor's son.

She was about to greet them, when one pulled out a knife. Her heart began to race wildly, and she bolted the other way. In a skirt and sandals though, it was useless. One caught up to her and wrestled her to the ground. She kicked and punched at him as the other boy snatched up her bag.

The boy holding her down held the knife to her as he grabbed her shoes, but Zuri wasn't going to just let him get away with it. Her fingers reached for his face as she struggled. The boy yelled as he forced her fingers in his eye sockets, but the knife cut into her legs. Pain shot threw her but they ran off after that, with one shoe and her bag. Tears sprang to her eyes as she realized how much blood there was.

She should have just let them take whatever they wanted. It felt like her leg was on fire, the pain was so intense. Since the dress was already torn, she ripped off a strip of cloth from the bottom and tied it around her calf. It was soaked in blood in a matter of seconds when she stood up. Still, her house was a closer walk then the hospital.

She was almost home when a large man stepped out from the brush. At eight foot tall, with mottled skin, and an expressionless mask though, she thought she was staring at death. She stood perfectly still, breathless, and unsure of what to think. The creature clicked softly, then pointed to her leg. She was almost sure then that she'd lost more blood than she thought.

However, the towering man brought his hands up and laced his fingers together. Then, he pointed at her leg again. She was close to fainting as it lurched closer. Her eyes bounced up and down its body, at the strange dreds, at its scaly feet, at the claws on its hands, and couldn't come to a conclusion as to what it was. When it produced a small jar and reached out its hand towards her, she backed away.

Zuri fell straight on her ass, the sheer size difference between them increasing. It towered over her. One of its hand rose to show her its palm, trying to tell her to stay put. She didn't have the mindset to fight back any more. It opened the jar and crouched down right in front of her.

She shivered as one of its nails cut away the cloth she'd tied around her leg. She was too dizzy and in pain, or she would have started running. Her eyes widened with fright as its big hand slowly rubbed over her wound with a cream, and her cut vanished completely. It was a demon, with healing powers. Her skin was healed, like magic.

She had to force the words out, "T-thank you."

It dipped its head down, its tentacle-like hair falling over its shoulders as it did. Then, it stood and walked away. It vanished back into the brush. After a minute of shock, she stood and walked to the treeline. She cautiously pushed a big tropical leaf out of the way and looked in the brush for it, but saw nothing.

She ran the rest of the way home, then began to pace back and forth. There was no way she'd be able to sleep. She didn't understand or believe what she'd seen...but it showed up again. She almost screamed as she saw a wave of electricity in her living room, that turned into a menacing form with a metal mask. She froze, fear gripping her.

It bowed to her.

She blinked at it.

In the light, she could make out more of its features. Gold metal rings with strange symbols encased its dark grey, fleshy dreds. It wore a combination of armor and leather, looking rather steampunk in appearance. It had a line of tiny black spikes down the middle of its chest, along with a few on its forearms. It's skin was almost reptilian, and as hard as it was for her to admit, she knew it had to be an alien.

"What do you want?"

He curved his hand and brought it to as though he had a drink in his hand, then pointed to her.

She grabbed a cup from the cabinet, filled it with water, and handed it to him. Her hands gripped the countertop behind her as one of his hands lifted to take off the metal mask. A hiss of air escaped as the metal loosened its hold on his face, and then he slowly brought the mask away. Zuri's stomach churned uncomfortably. Its face was beyond hideous.

She looked away as he tipped the glass to his lipless mouth. The creature took a step towards her, and set the cup down on the counter beside her. She tentatively looked over its body again, then up at its face. She tried to concentrate on the nicer features. Its eyes were a mint green with flecks of gold right around the pupils.

When it balled away from her, she was in a panic that it might leave, "Are you hungry?"

It tilted its head to side and let out a small trill.

Zuri hesitantly slipped away from him and opened the fridge. There wasn't much in there, but she held up different items and let him smell them. She was starting to think she had nothing he liked when she grabbed out a carton with a few eggs left. He ucked one of the tan eggs out and put it in his mouth whole. Zuri grimaced as he swallowed without chewing.

When he reached for a second one, she said, "No no, I can cook it first..."

He proceeded to eat all of them whole, and she turned back to the fridge to see what else she had. There was a couple chicken breasts that she had been thawing out and she unwrapped those to show him. When he reached for it, she held the package away. She already felt bad for letting him eat raw eggs. When the air pulsed with a deep growl, Zuri quickly held the meat up to him though, her heart in a panic.

She covered her mouth in disgust as she watched his black claws lift up the raw slab of meat. He brought it up to his face, then the four tusk-tipped mandibles did the rest. In an almost insect-like way, they fed part of the chicken breast into his mouth, then his sharp teeth ripped off a bite. He didn't chew, but swallowed down whole chunks. It was disturbing.

When he finished though, she wracked her brain for anything else she could offer him, as she didn't want him to leave. However, she was too afraid to offer him a place to sleep, and didn't know what else he would want. She stood and watched him explore her house for a few minutes. He examined a few of her nicknacks. Then, he seemed ready to leave.

Zuri followed him out the door, and said a quiet, "Bye."

He crossed his arm over his chest with a slight bow. Her stomach fluttered nervously thinking that it was a sort of "thank you" gesture. As he started to turn away, a wave of electricity danced over his body and he was rendered invisible. There was only the slightest shimmer. She would look for that shimmer from then on.


	6. Chapter 6

After asking a few more details of their meeting, Keta-ki probably should have dropped the conversation right then and there. Instead, he had to push things. It wasn't his goal to upset her, but he had dealt with badbloods. They were manipulative and oomans were easily deceived. He knew Uri in a different way than she did. He had read the reports on his behaviour and had witnessed his crimes.

"His actions sound illogical." As she glared at him, he continued, "Yautjas hunt oomans. Why would he heal wounds that were not life-threatening?"

"He didn't kill people." She snapped.

"He did. His kills were catalogued before he turned rogue and he had two ooman skulls."

"I don't believe you." She pouted.

"Secondly, why would he ask for water? Earth is mostly water and we have technology what condenses and purifies water."

She didn't answer, only crossed her arms.

"Yautjas are very sexually driven, so if he really liked you, he wouldn't have waited years to sleep with you."

"That is just bullshit!"

"Why didn't he take you along with him when he traveled? What is the purpose of sustaining a long-distance relationship? What were his plans for a yautja child born on earth? And if he loved you, why did he lead me right to you? He had to have noticed that you were with child."

"He didn't lead you to me! That is a lie!"

"His handprints were all over your roof. He stopped by earth just to lead me to you, to stall me maybe, and left. He did not protect you from me whatsoever."

"Get out! Just get out!" Zuri shoved at his shoulders.

He'd given her enough to consider. Keta-ki stood, grabbed the cup and plate, and left her alone, as he knew it must be hard for her. Keta-ki poured himself a drink. It wasn't exactly alcohol, but was still a loosen-u-up drink that was legal in their clan. Of course, he only got one sip before she came waltzing out of the bedroom.

A soon as she got near him, she began to scold him, "Uck, I can smell that nasty stuff on your breath. You can't be drinking around me. Pour it out."

"Its not bad for your health if I'm the one drinking it. Let me be."

"Pour it out. I'm not about to witness a drunken yautja."

His nerves were shattering, but he was used to obeying dominant females. Keta-ki poured out the drink. Then, since the vitamin drink didn't work, to help her be less nauseous, he gave her condensed cracker-cookies. She nibbled away at them like a rabbit, without pause. He poured himself a glass of water instead.

"Uri had to be framed. Will he gave a trial, or do you just go around slaughtering so-called criminals?"

"We hold many trials. There was such a copious amount of evidence against him though, that he was not given one."

"Can you make them hold a trial?"

"I could."

"Will you?"

He turned to look at her. There was a bar counter between them, but it was too tall for an ooman. It came up to her neck and she tried to rest her hands up on the counter but that just resulted in her looking like a ridiculous little midget. He admired her eyes, one which was green, and the other part green and part blue. It was a beautiful oddity.

After a second of hesitation, he said, "I will find out who went after him, and ask them to bring the badblood in alive. When they catch him, I can let you see him too. But Zuri, don't get your hopes up that he will be acquitted."

"You're wrong about him." She said stubbornly.

"I wish that I was, Zuri."

She sighed, and began nibbling on her crackers again. Keta-ki made a few calls, ensuring that Uri would be caught alive. After that, when he proceeded to try and get some work done, she began flicking food at him. A cracker went flying over his shoulder, then another skidded on the floor between his feet. She had terrible aim.

Keta-ki huffed, but otherwise ignored her. A cracker bounced off the wall in front of him. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he tried to focus on the hologram rising from his wrist controls. Next, a cracker hit the back of his neck. He shot her a warning glance then walked into the next room.

Zuri followed him, leaning her arms on the furniture to steady her shot. Then, she flicked one of the crackers and hit him on the side of the head. Keta-ki growled and slowly turned to face her. He splayed out his mandibles to convey that he was in no mood to play. She had a huge grin on her face as she flicked yet another cracker at him, which smacked into his forehead.

"I'm bored."

"I can tell." He drawled.

Keta-ki couldn't help but pace the room. She was bored, and it seemed that she wanted him to entertain her. He wasn't getting any work done. She was going to drive him crazy if he didn't come up with something. Finally, he got an idea.

He went into the bedroom and clicked the buttons on the wall to bring up a huge hologram screen. All masks were equipped with a recording device that never turned off. The feeds were accessible to wrist controls, ships, houses. Recordings could be audited by arbitrators, but also watched by the general public as well. It was helpful with staying up to date on news, learning fight moves, and getting to know clan members.

For Zuri though, he hoped it could be a source of entertainment. Like TV back on Earth, she could change the channels and watch epic hunts, old wars, documentaries, or even just yautja day-to-day life. She might find anything from rituals, sex, executions, shopping, foreign planets, animals, and anything else. He left the hologram on a random recording, then went to go get her. She was lying on the floor, trying to stack the crackers into a house.

"Come here." He didn't wait for her to respond, but merely picked her up and carried her off.

Keta-ki gently set her down on the bed, then gave her a rundown on how to switch the recordings. She seemed excited to have something to watch. However, she needed to get comfy first, then bug him for a drink. After that, Keta-ki picked up her crackers from the floor and tried to concentrate on work. It was only a minute later that she started yelling for him again.

This time, she asked for something impossible. "I need chili pepper dark chocolate."

He knew very well that pregnant oomans had cravings, but, "I don't think there is any chocolate anywhere on this entire planet."

She groaned. With that, Keta-ki left and shut the bedroom door. Though he was not out in the field chasing after any badbloods, he still had serious paperwork to do, reports to fill out, and other busy work. He was glad to finally have the peace and quiet he was used to...However, after a few minutes he sort of almost missed her.

When his daily work was accomplished, Keta-ki went in to check on her, only to find that she was asleep. He lingered in the doorway for a moment, then walked up to the bed. It was almost impossible, but she looked even more beautiful when she was asleep. Keta-ki grabbed his bio mask and examined her growing belly. Though the baby seemed healthy, with a strong heart, he knew that she would need to go see a professional sooner or later for an examination.

For now though, he would let her sleep. Keta-ki turned down the volume of the hologram, but instead of turning it off, he searched for recordings of Uri. He had to admit that the badblood was different from others. Though he still wore the bio mask, Uri had jailbroken it in a way that it would not record his actions anymore. Keta-ki was stuck with watching old recordings of the badblood, third party sightings, and camera spottings.

Keta-ki watched the surveillance recordings from the day of the political assassination even though he'd already watched them before. Uri may not have been a crazy murderer, but he was still a tactful assassin. He got on the yautja home planet, into the building, past security, and then back out completely undetected. He was a calm, intelligent criminal. His first crimes had been had been stealing goods and framing innocent citizens for it, but Keta-ki had no way of knowing whether Uri had been fond of the ooman or using her.


	7. Chapter 7

When Zuri woke up, she went right back to pestering him, "I wanna go somewhere."

She was already delicate just because she was ooman, and with her being pregnant too, he didn't have any idea of where to take her. Keta-ki got out his knife set and laid them on a small table. They never dulled, never needed to be sharpened. He lightly grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the target wall. The knives were small, non lethal, and Keta-ki practiced with them every day.

One by one, he threw them at Zuri. His motions were smooth and precise. They generally outlined her body, but left a six inch gap. She turned her head, eyeing the sharp knives that were embedded into the wall around her. She rolled her eyes, seeming rather unimpressed.

"Is that the best you can do?"

He quickly defended his honor, "I made sure to leave space in case you flinched."

Keta-ki surged forward to retrieve his knives. He crowded her, letting his heat reach out to her without his body touching hers. When all the knives were pulled from the wall, he lifted one of the blades to her face. He let the back of it softly trail down her cheek. He couldn't help himself, continuing to slide the blade down the V of her shirt.

"How close do you want them?"

"As close as you can get them." She challenged.

He walked back several feet, then lifted up a blade. His yellow eyes focused on his target, taking precise aim. He let out a slow exhale and with a flick of his wrist he hurtled the blade at her. It hit right above her head, and he quickly proceeded to throw the rest, forming a tight dotted line around her. The last knife landed below her pelvis, going right through her loincloth.

They were right against her skin. As he walked forward, he could tell she was trying not to smile. He slowly removed the blades, noticing that one had just hardly nicked her neck. She hadn't flinched at all. His hand reached between her legs to tug the last one out that had gone through her loincloth.

She placed her palms up on his chest, "Well, since you don't seem to need any more practice...you should take me for a walk." Zuri shoved him away and began to walk towards the door.

She was such a tease. "I'm not taking you outside Zuri."

"Why not? I just want some fresh air and to get a little exercise."

"No."

"Please, It's good for my health and the baby."

He couldn't deny that she was right. "We will go for a very short walk."

Outside was like a subdivision of scattered houses. Some were on the more modern side, coming in a variety of odd shapes, and covered in tinted glass. Others were more rustic, constructed like plain ziggurats and pyramids. The abundant traffic in the sky was kept invisible until the ships landed, to keep the planet from looking crowded. Zuri didn't wait for him to lead.

She headed in a random direction, and Keta-ki kept his pace slow enough so that he could walk beside her. There wasn't very many people out and about. The few people they passed though, gave them odd looks. Keta-ki socialized with most of the neighbors and knew them well, but with Zuri beside him, no one stopped to talk to him. Keta-ki knew when he was being shunned.

He was walking around with a pregnant ooman, and they connected the dots. They thought he had got her knocked up without claiming her as a mate. If she were yautja, that wouldn't have mattered. But since she was ooman, some did not approve. Keta-ki could have corrected their assumptions, but instead chose to ignore them and focus on Zuri.

He placed his arm around her back to steer her, "This way to the shops."

Out of the subdivision and on the edge of town was a few of his favorite shops. The owners spun a story for each of the objects for sale, just to make them seem more valuable. The high prices always needed to be haggled. However, they had new and interesting foreign goods that Keta-ki found hard to resist. He ushered Zuri inside the closest shop.

It was filled with torture weapons, unique jewelry, clothes, exotic foods, and more. Everything she touched, the shop owner had to tell them about, and she touched a lot of things. He kept anticipating that she'd ask him for something, but she never did. When they were about to leave she asked to use the bathroom. Keta-ki followed her to the bathroom, checking for other doors or windows in which she could use to run off.

Since there were no escape routes, he left her to do her business. At every single shop she stopped to use the bathroom. He was aware that pregnant oomans sometimes had to use the bathroom more frequently, but she was going ridiculously often. He had stopped checking the bathrooms first, and waiting right outside the door, as it was getting annoying. Instead, he browsed the shop, looking for something to buy her.

It wasn't very often that he had the chance to buy anyone a gift, and he wanted to find something special for her. A necklace would have been fitting, but he didn't want anyone to see it as an ownership collar. Since she was still in the bathroom, he contacted a few people he knew, trying to procure some chocolate for her like she'd asked for. He had kept an eye on the bathroom for and she'd never come back out. When he went to stand by the entrance, he couldn't hear any movement in the bathroom.

Keta-ki stormed in and checked the bathroom, finding it empty and a window open. He had felt almost foolish thinking that she would run away, but then she went and did it. His chest vibrated with an angry growl. When he found her, she was going to be in some serious trouble. He whirled around and left the shop to track her.

Around the back of the building was an alleyway with her footprints. He could follow her scent. And he asked a few people in the streets if they had seen an ooman, and they pointed in the direction she had gone. If she hid from him, he was going to be furious. But if she got herself hurt in any way, he was going to be even more infuriated.

When he caught up to her, she looked behind her back and spotted him. Zuri bolted, weaving through the alleyways and zipping across the streets. Keta-ki was an experienced and deadly executioner. He followed her, letting her wear herself out. Then, even her chest was heaving and it off breath he launched at her.

As he grabbed her wrist, she shrieked and spun away from him. He worried that she would twist her wrist, so he dropped his hold. She fell to the ground, her eyes beginning to water. He growled at a few bystanders, but turned back to Zuri as scrambled up. His chest heaving and his fists clenched, he walked forward and grabbed her by the hair.

"You are coming home with me, and you will be locked up and handcuffed!"

She began to cry, and as he drug her forward she begged, "Slow down."

As he yanked her forward, another male boldly stepped in to command him, "Let go of the girl immediately."

"This is none of your business! Back off!" Keta-ki snapped.

The other male slammed his fist into Keta-ki's face, and he instantly let go of Zuri. He backpedaled some as the other male gently pushed the ooman behind him, guarding her. Keta-ki started to get more angry, but realized that the citizen was simply looking out for her. She had a small baby bump and Keta-ki had been handling her roughly. He snarled at the male, but backed down.

The other yautja looked down at the ooman then, searching for any wounds before he asked, "What's your name?"

"Zuri." She whimpered.

"Is this your mate?"

She shook her head.

"Do you know him? Or is he a stranger?"

Keta-ki blew up again, "I was not kidnapping her! She is under my command!"

The male splayed out his mandibles angrily at Keta-ki, then turned back to the girl. He asked if she needed to be carried, or if she could walk with him a short distance. She said she was fine, and so the male walked her a good distance away from Keta-ki. He had her sit down, and then the male knelt down beside her and continued to ask her questions. Keta-ki began to pace in the street.

His blood was absolutely boiling, and he was getting even more angry by the passing seconds. He wasn't so much angry at her anymore, but himself. She was wiping her face and smiling at the other male now. He had defended her, protected her while Keta-ki had yelled at her, and hurt her.

Keta-ki was jealous. He didn't like seeing her with another male, because he liked her, he wanted her. She was more then just off-limits though. She was loyal to another mate, and pregnant with another's child. He was no good for her anyway if he couldn't contain his temper.


	8. Chapter 8

He paced back and forth until his anger subsided, then he walked up to Zuri and her new bodyguard. The male stood to his feet, ready to deck Keta-ki again if it was necessary. Keta-ki tried not to despise the male. He was acting as a good citizen should. Still, the male was getting under his skin.

Keta-ki sidestepped so that he had a better view of Zuri, "I'm sorry. Do you want to continue walking out go home?"

It was a sincere yet pathetic apology, and it was apparently not good enough for the other yautja. The male growled and stepped in front of the girl to hide her from Keta-ki. He would not fight in the street in front of her, so Keta-ki just stood still. The male seemed reluctant to let Zuri go, and Keta-ki realized that if she wasn't pregnant she would be fought over. He would have a lot of competition to have her as a mate.

"I'm ready to go home."

The male turned around to look at her, letting out a soft trill, then asked, "Are you sure you're safe with him?"

She nodded, and went to Keta-ki's side. Keta-ki let out a snort at the male, sort of saying "ha I won". Then, he led Zuri back towards the house. He kept his pace slow for her. As they walked, they were both completely silent fire the longest time.

Finally, he had to ask, "Why did you run away?"

Her voice was soft and sad, "I guess I just thought that Uri would come back for me. I thought maybe that I just needed to get away from you and he would have an opportunity to save me. I know it was stupid. I know he's not here."

The months passed quickly and Zuri's belly was soon full and round. She had a doctor appointment to see when she would be delivering the baby. With an ooman carrying a yautja child, the timing was usually off. And there was no guarantee that she'd be able to deliver it naturally. Some oomans had to have a C section, if complications arose, or if the baby grew too big for a safe delivery. Keta-ki was urging her to get dressed and ready, when she broke down and started crying.

Keta-ki grabbed her hands and started to purr immediately, worried that he'd been rushing her

too much.

However, she babbled, "I'm so fat! My feet are swollen! I can hardly dress myself!"

Her hormones were out of control, and it wasn't her fault. Though he still found her beautiful, he didn't think that she would believe him if he said it. Keta-ki did know of a way to make her feel better though. Chocolate always did the trick. He was glad he had invested in the stuff and now always kept a whole drawer stocked full of the substance.

Keta-ki retrieved her favorite, a chilly pepper infused chocolate, and broke off a corner for her. She pouted for a second, probably still thinking of her weight, but as soon as the dark chocolate melted on her tongue she relaxed. Keta-ki moved her hair out of her face and wiped away her tears with his thumb. Living with her, his patience was always frayed at the ends, yet he had gained more control over his anger. Zuri had come to forgive all of his angry outbursts, and that only made him admire her even more.

He broke of another piece of chocolate for her, then wrapped up the rest. "Come on, or we'll be late." he cooed.

"I have to pee."

They were only a few minutes late. They were asked to enter the room immediately, and the doctor lowered the examination chair and had her sit. Then, he brought down a domed piece of equipment over her belly, which projected an image on a screen in front of her. Zuri gasped and grabbed Keta-ki's hand. It was her baby.

With a flip of a switch, they could all hear it's strong heartbeat. The doctor asked her and Keta-ki a few questions. He ran a few more scans. Zuri sat there, getting over the fact that the baby was indeed male. Finally, the doctor came to a conclusion.

"Based on the rate of growth, it's likely that a C section will be necessary. But don't worry, for oomans and other alien species, we offer extensive drugs and painkillers. You won't feel a thing and the scar will be erased completely."

Everything was going well, and Zuri and the doctor were even discussing boy names. When things were starting to wrap up though, a yautja female walked in. She was best described as amazonian in appearance. She was tall and lithe but not without muscle. She had very long black dreads that reached down the middle of her back, with shiny bronze beads on them. She carried a tiny baby in her arms and had a long dagger strapped to her hips.

"Oh it's so cute!" Zuri jumped up and walked right up to the female, reaching her fingers up towards the infant, "Can I hold it?"

The baby had big grey eyes, and slightly green tinted skin with darker mottling. It was young, lacking any dreads, but still had tusks and sharp teeth. The child was cute, but the momma was nothing to mess with. She let out a deep growl as a warning to back up. Zuri frowned but did not back away.

"It is inappropriate for anyone but the parents to hold a child." Keta-ki informed her.

"That's stupid!" Zuri whined. "It's so adorable!"

The female charged forward and leaned down so she would be in Zuri's face, "Stop calling him an 'it'!"

Zuri was having baby love. Her mothering instincts had kicked in, and she was staring at babies, children, and little animals everywhere she went. It wasn't her fault that she was in cuddle-mode and no one would let an alien near their children. Keta-ki quickly jumped in to steer her away from the over-protective female. He snuggly wrapped his arm around her waist and walked her from the building.

He had planned on taking her back home, but she looked so pouty. She kept her eyes on the ground, and her arms crossed. She kept sighing, and Keta-ki knew that he had to do something. Oomans were social in different ways, and bonded to animals even. She would be having her baby soon, but he had to find her something to love on or her child would be smothered. He quickly came up with an idea.

He paid for a ride across town, and took her inside one of the shops. Zuri jumped as one of the large hunting hounds reared up and put its paws on the bars. It was a huge and muscular animal with hairless, leathery skin, sunken-in black eyes, and a gaping mouth full of teeth. Large bone spikes rose from its back, as well as its head. She stared at it with an ugly grimace.

"What are we doing here?"

"You'll see." He purred.

He pulled her past the cages with the growling and pacing adult hounds, and into the back rooms. When they came to last cage, Keta-ki pulled open the door and pushed Zuri inside. She stood tense, staring at the covered bed in the corner. When little chirping squeaks came from the bed though, Zuri's face lit up with a smile. She walked forward, and puppies started to pour out from the bed.

They clamored over to her and Keta-ki, smelling around and roughhousing with each other. They were only recently separated from their bearer, and didn't have any spines at all yet. They were just little chubby, hairless, wrinkly things. She turned to beam up at Keta-ki, and her smile warmed him more than the sun.

"Go ahead, you're allowed to pick them up."

The first one she grabbed for bit her finger, making Zuri yelp.

"I guess I should have warned you, they are not very well behaved yet."

She reached for another one, wrapping her fingers around its belly as it kicked and tried to nip at her hands. She giggled at it happily. Once it stopped struggling, she brought it to her chest and stroked its head. It seemed to calm down quickly, and Zuri sat down in the cage with it. She was instantly mobbed by the little hunting hounds, all of them biting and pulling on her clothes.

After a mintue of petting and holding them though, they all began to lick her and snuggle up against her. A couple of them would go running off to wrestle each other, but then would quickly run back and jump in Zuri's lap. Keta-ki stood and watched her kiss and play with them. She was smiling broadly the entire time. He'd never seen her happier.

Zuri turned to look up at him, "Can we keep one?"

He was in trouble now, "No, absolutely not."

"Please?"

"No. It will only add to your workload once the child is born. It will pester and distract me from my work. And, we have no use for a hunting hound."

"Please please please!" She begged, holding up one of the chubby puppies.

"It won't be very cute for long." Keta-ki growled.

Her voice got high pitched, "Is that a yes?"

His agitated growl rolled into an exhale at the look she was giving him, and Keta-ki said, "Pick one out."


	9. Chapter 9

Getting closer to the due date, Keta-ki constructed another surprise for Zuri. He had to get her out of the house for a little while. She looked silly, a pregnant ooman carrying around a tiny hunting hound puppy. When the little beast got bigger though, she was going to look fierce. After a ride around town and some light shopping, he brought her back home and waited to see if she'd notice anything.

She set down the hound to go the bathroom and Keta-ki casually leaned against the wall by the bedroom. When she came back out, she found her crackers and started nibbling. She eyed him suspiciously but then continued about her business. He watched her as she got a drink and sipped it slowly. She looked back over at him, and put one hand on her hip.

"What?" She asked.

He gestured for to come over. She huffed and started to walk to him, but suddenly jerked to a stop. She looked at the bedroom door, then to the door beside it. Zuri cocked her head to the side, then her eyebrows rose. She bit her lower lip, then cautiously turned to look up at him.

"That door wasn't there before, right?"

While they were out, he had hired a remodeling crew to come to his house. In little less than an hour, a door had been installed, a room built onto the building, and furniture placed inside. He had been planning it for some time. He hoped that Zuri would like it.

"Go on in." He prompted.

Zuri slid the door open and stood in the doorway. Her mouth dropped some as she looked around the room. There was a crib in the center, designed like a chalice with a soft round bed in the inside. In one corner was a comfy chair where she could relax and breastfeed. There were tables, shelves, and drawers around the room too.

Keta-ki had warmed up to the idea of raising her child. Chasing badbloods and becoming an arbitrator could wait-he just wanted to be with Zuri. He cautiously came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her chest, daring to show some of the affection he felt for her. She started to run her fingers up his arm, but then began to shake her head. She pulled away from him, and her eyes started to swell with tears.

"You shouldn't have done this...If...if Uri is found innocent, I'll have to leave. He said that he loves me."

"I won't deny that he may care for you, but he is no good for you or your baby."

"You don't get to say what is or is not good for me!"

"He is a badblood, and you need to admit it. I'm sorry Zuri, but it is true."

"He can't be! He would never hurt me or put me in any danger! He isn't bad; there has to have been a mistake!"

"I can show you his crimes, show you the videos."

"I just want to go home." She sobbed.

She needed to be strong when she had her baby, and latching on to false hopes was unhealthy. The sooner she realized the truth, the faster she would be able to move on. Even if Uri did love her, he would be chased as a badblood his entire life, and that was not going to end well for her or the baby. And if he's caught and put on trial, he would be executed, and she needed to prepare herself for that. She couldn't grieve too long; her baby was going to need her.

Keta-ki grabbed her wrist and hauled her into the living room, activating one of the large hologram screens. He played recordings of Uri, skipping to the parts that were unlawful. At first she lit up at seeing him, but as she watched, she became receded. It showed Uri committing many crimes, some of which were armed robbery, arson, kidnapping, and finally murder with the assassination of the political figure and his mate. Zuri just stood there, silent, her eyes on the hologram.

Keta-ki turned it off, hating to see her like that. He was breaking her heart. He combed his hands through her long, dark, curled hair a he started to purr. The holograms were not censored, and not blurry-they were in high definition and full color, showing Uri's face clearly, and all the blood. He wiped away her tears and when her soft, pink lips began to quiver he deepened his purrs.

"He never acted violent in front of me. Never." She whimpered.

She was still starting up at the hologram screen even though it was blank. Keta-ki carefully scooped her up and carried her to bed. He arranged the furs how she liked and brought the biggest one over her body. Then, he found the hairless puppy and placed it in her arms. She started to giggle at his efforts, but it turned into hiccups, and then just more sobbing. Keta-ki left, thinking it was best if he let her be alone for a while.

o0oo0oo0o

In over six months she hadn't seen him, touched him, or smelled him-and then he showed up at her door late one night. Over the years they had been seeing each other, Uri had learned her language. They walked together at night, around places were they weren't likely to be seen, and they talked for hours. At an abandoned farm, Zuri climbed up and sat on the wooden fence. She was almost at his eye level then.

Uri was about to continue their conversation, when he got distracted. He walked closer to the fence and tilted his head to examine something. Under the moonlight, Zuri could see a big preying mantis climbing one of the fence posts. When it got to the top, Uri extended his hand to touch or pick it up. The little thing was feisty though, and he pulled his fingers away.

After a few seconds, Uri declared, "I think this tiny insect wishes to fight me."

Zuri burst out laughing. All the while, the preying mantis was eyeing him and flicking its arms in the air menacingly. When she stopped giggling, Zuri stared into his eyes and forgot what they had been talking about. She cleared her throat and focused her attention on the fireflies around them. She lifted both of her hands and started to try and catch one.

Little kids were always catching them, but Zuri was finding it difficult. As soon as she zeroed in on one, it stopped glowing and she lost it in the dark. He stood just watching her for a few moments before deciding to join in. Uri's eyes followed one of the fireflies and he calmly reached out and caught it in his fist. He extended his hand for her to take the insect he'd caught.

She cupped her hands around his as his fingers opened, and the firefly was caught in her hands. She slowly brought her hands apart to peek down at it. It was almost too dark to see anything, but then a flash of yellow lit up in her palms. The fact that he'd caught it for her had her insides going all gushy. She smiled at him as the little bug flew out of her fingers.

Her stomach was in knots, but she bent forward and placed a small kiss on his mandibles, then she abruptly leaned away. Her cheeks were absolutely burning, unbelieving what she'd just done. She'd gone from finding his face hideous, to tolerable, to kissing it. Zuri had provoked something in him though. He placed his hands on the railing on each side of her, and steadily brought his face closer.

Her heart was pounding a million times a minute as his breath set on her lips, and his mandibles slowly twitched out of the way. Her grip on the fence tightened as a tusk grazed her lips and his teeth parted as his jaws opened. He pressed his mouth to hers. She was instantly lightheaded. His mouth moved against hers and she just sat there petrified for several seconds.

Zuri closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath of his musk, and her body was set on fire. She threw her arms around his neck and held him closer, moaning slightly as his strong arms went around her back. Her tongue reached out to his mouth without hesitation. Uri grunted at the intrusion, but in a matter of seconds his tongue began to slip into her mouth. His tongue was long, thin, hot, and carried an unusual taste that she sort of liked.

When they broke apart, Zuri was so out of breath and dizzy that she almost fell off the fence. She wracked her brain for some clever reason to invite him back to the house, but then just asked, "You wanna go inside?"

"Yea."

She hopped off the fence and sprinted back to the house with him on her heels. She clumsily fiddled with her keys, the anticipation making her frazzled. As soon as they got in the door, Zuri turned around and threw herself at him. Keta-ki's hand went behind her head as they kissed. He kicked the door closed and they moved towards the bedroom.

They scrambled in the dark to get each others clothes off, then tripped over the discarded garments as they tried to keep their mouths connected in the process. Zuri's squeezed his dreds and he collapsed back into the bed with her straddling him. He quickly flipped her under him and he let out a playful growl. Her eager fingertips trailed over his pecs and his abs, carefully feeling around those tiny spikes. As his hands parted her legs, she stared up at those mint green eyes.

Zuri drew in a sharp breath as he pushed inside her, his girth more than surprising. She winced as he sunk all the way inside her, but then her body shuddered with pleasure. She wrapped her arms around his back, panting and moaning with his every stroke. The gold beads in his hair clinked together as his muscles tightened and he thrust into her harder.

His hand went around the base of her neck, restricting her air flow, and making her feel weak and safe all in the same breath. She arched her back and moaned as his thrusts became more demanding. It was an overpowering sensory fusion of pain and pleasure. In the dark she could still make out the odd blotching of his skin, reminding her what sort of creature was unleashed on top of her. The reptilian skin, the claws, the mandibles, just made it all the more exhilarating.

He held her tightly as one last thrust sent her over the edge. She let out an orgasmic cry, pleasure sweeping through her body. Uri nibbled at her ear as she caught her breath, then he rolled over to lay beside her. She curled up on his side, her fingers trailing up and down his chest as her eyelids grew heavy. As she zoned in and out, he murmured alien words in a sleepy, sated tone.

Then, right before her eyes closed he uttered, "I've fallen for an ooman."


	10. Chapter 10

It wasn't long after that incident that Keta-ki received word from one of the arbitrators that had gone after Uri. The badblood had been apprehended, alive, and was currently being held on a mothership. A trial had already been held, and they listened to anything Uri had to say. Three elders had attended, and all had agreed to a death sentence. Uri was due to arrive at the clan house within the hour.

Keta-ki went into the bedroom, where Zuri was curled up in his finest furs while his bed was bare. She always slept in late and took frequent cat-naps. He had tried hard to make her see that Uri was a badblood because it was true, and also because Keta-ki wanted her as a mate...But now he couldn't help but think that his actions were not quite honorable. He hoped that she would still be able to say goodbye to Uri, despite having been shown a side of him that Uri had hid from her.

"Zuri, get up."

She stirred some.

"Get up."

She turned and blinked at him sleepily, "Why?"

He didn't know how to put it, so he just said, "Get up, we gave to go."

She rubbed her eyes and nodded.

Without another word, he led her to his ship, and they quickly landed at the clan house. He led her through the terminals to door outlined in skulls. Keta-ki began to pace, debating on what to say, or whether he should just open the door and let her put the pieces together. Zuri stood with her hand on her belly, watching him nervously. She must have known something was up by now, and was just afraid to ask.

Keta-ki stopped to stand in front of her, and lifted her chin with his hand, "I'm sorry Zuri...Go in and say your goodbyes."

Her eyes began to water, and she choked, "They caught him?"

"Yes, and his trial did not go favorably." She started to sob and Keta-ki took her face with both hands and leaned his forehead down against hers as he said, "Be strong."

Keta-ki let her go to slide open the door for her. She didn't budge at first. Tears ran down her cheeks. With timid steps, she began to inch towards the door. As soon as she caught sight of Uri though, she ran right to him.

Keta-ki followed her inside, and watched her throw herself into Uri's arms. The arbitrators and other yautjas present all looked at her with disgust. In their minds, she was fawning over a rogue, a murderer. That's what Keta-ki had first thought thought of her devotion to Uri as well, but there was no shame in loyalty to one's mate. Uri was chained in the center of the room with the other yautjas behind him, and Keta-ki stayed by the door to give her privacy.

Keta-ki did not like seeing her arms wrap around his neck as she placed small kisses on his face. He did not like the way Uri struggled against the chains, unable to hold her. He could see Uri's mandibles moving, but he was talking very quietly and Keta-ki was too far away to hear. When Zuri spoke back, he could make out hushed whispers, but not the words. Watching her with him, Keta-ki hated feeling like he and Zuri could never be mates.

The others in the room huffed and grunted impatiently, glancing at Keta-ki on occasion. However, he had requested that Zuri be able to see the badblood, and he was determined that she be given more time. So the minutes passed on. He wondered if they were discussing baby names-as Keta-ki had already picked one out that he liked but had yet announced it to Zuri. If he was to help raise the child, he felt that he had the right to name it.

Eventually, Zuri stood, her hands shaking and her eyes red with shed tears. She slowly trudged back to Keta-ki, and he was about to put his hands around her when she grabbed the blade strapped to his leg. It was big in her hands, and shaped like a machete. She pointed it up at Keta-ki, her eyes wide with fear as well as determination. Keta-ki couldn't move-all that was going through his mind was that they would kill her for trying to free Uri, and Uri was probably the one that told her to do it.

Zuri wasn't stupid, and knew that she wouldn't stand a chance against the many yautjas in the room. The blade was poisoned though, and strong enough to cut through Uri's chains. Uri must have seen it and told her to grab it. The very air stirred with geep growls. Keta-ki wanted to protect her, save her, but if she chose her path with Uri...he knew it was not his place to do so.

She would be just as much a badblood in their eyes. He wouldn't be able to help her. Keta-ki could have snatched the blade from her hand, but instead he took a step back, letting her decide. Her chest was heaving and the other yautjas in the room waited for her to make the first move so they could tear her apart. Zuri dropped her gaze and meekly handed over the handle of the blade to Keta-ki. Then, she frantically ran out of the room.

The badblood began to yell, "Zuri! Zuri!" The chains rattled and the metal began to groan with the tension as he struggled, "Zuri!"

Keta-ki would go after her, but first he had business to finish. He was still an executioner. Keta-ki calmy walked forward and poised the blade over Uri's chest. Badbloods were usually ritualistically killed and made an example of. For Zuri's sake, he would be killed more humanely.

The poison would work fast. Keta-ki deftly plunged the blade into Uri's heart, the blood trickling out at first. A he removed the blade, bright green fluorescent blood spurted out from his chest cavity to the beats of his dying heart. It didn't last long. In a matter of seconds, his heart stopped and his limp body fell in the pool of blood. Keta-ki wiped the blade on Uri's clothes to remove the blood from his weapon, and put it back in the holster on his leg.

"We have further news." One arbitrator spoke up.

Keta-ki wanted to go find Zuri, to make she she was safe, but knew that he needed to stay. "What about?"

"Uri confessed everything, even divulging that there was indeed someone steering his crimes. We think we know now who the instigator was-and that yautja will go down with Uri."

Keta-ki hadn't known whether or not to tell the ooman that Uri's actions were not completely his own, that they were motivated by someone else. It had been a theory before, but at the trial their suspicions had been confirmed. Uri had gotten himself in debt, and in trouble, and a corrupt yautja had used that against him to turn Uri rouge. Though he was forced to act criminally, Uri still was not innocent. It would have been honorable just to commit suicide, but instead Uri took two innocent lives to try and save his own.

When Keta-ki finally went to go find Zuri, he couldn't decide whether or not to tell her. He didn't know if it would make her feel better, worse, or just confuse her. He located Zuri quickly enough. A few clan members had found her crying in the halls and had taken her to one of the medical rooms. Keta-ki took her back home.

She wouldn't eat at first, not even chocolate. She wouldn't talk to him, or even look at him. Keta-ki could do nothing but let her grieve. He made sure that she took a bath, ate, and got rest, but otherwise didn't try to bother her. The bedroom lights were dimming, and he was about to close the door when she finally spoke up.

"Don't leave." She begged softly.

Keta-ki hesitated, but then sat down in the end of her bed. "Did he tell you to grab the weapon?"

"Yea."

"You listened at first, so why did you change your mind?"

"...When I told him I was afraid that they'd attack me and hurt the baby, he said, 'We can make a new one'."

Zuri started sobbing again, her body shaking uncontrollably. She squeezed her eyes shut and rolled to her side, fingers tightly holding onto the edge of the furs. Even Keta-ki was shocked to know that he'd said something as horrible as that. If Uri had a desire to live so bad that he'd endanger his own unborn child, he truly was a badblood.


	11. Chapter 11

Everyday was a little better. She always wanted Keta-ki around, but he couldn't help but feel that her need for his presence was artificial. She just didn't want to be alone. Zuri pulled him to sit on the bed with her, and he turned on the hologram screen. He went through the recordings until he found a beautiful, cladly dressed female being watched by someone.

Zuri quickly hit the button on his wrist control to switch the recordings to something else. Keta-ki huffed but didn't bother to argue with her. Zuri had to have a hand on her belly constantly, and it seemed to calm her. As she watched the screen, her thumb rubbed back and forth over her swollen belly. Then for no reason, she grabbed Keta-ki's hand and placed it over her stomach.

When he glanced over at her, she gave him a shy smile. He supposed there was hope still that she would come to see him as a suitable mate. Keta-ki slowly rubbed his hand over her soft skin, still debating whether or not to tell her about the other yautja involved in Uri' crimes. He didn't want to bring him up though and have her cry again. So Keta-ki wrapped one arm around her back as the other held her stomach.

"You know the appointment is later today. Have you decided on a name?"

"No. I figure that when I see the baby, then I'll be able to decide."

"I realize that the child isn't mine, but I'd like to name him Meketre. Do you like it?"

She tucked her lips in as she considered it, but then said, "I'll have to think about it for a little while."

When Keta-ki got bored and couldn't sit there any longer, he tried to get some work done. He had to keep tags on badblood sightings and other related news, as well as do some budgeting. However, Zuri didn't want to watch the holograms alone. Lately, she'd gone into a sort of nesting mode-the cleaner and more organized the house was, the better she felt. So she kept trying to move things around and clean even though she could hardly do much.

So Keta-ki abandoned his work to wrap his arms around her, "You need to relax. You are too far along to be moving so much. Exercise and walking can induce labor-and you're scheduled for C section."

Zuri sighed and leaned her back against him, "I know-you've said that before."

He finally got some work done when she took a nap. Then, it was off to the hospital. Zuri was calm the ride there, and just a little bit nervous when they had her lie down on the table. The doctor began describing the procedure, and what she should expect, while the assistant got the tools ready. Zuri started to look pale.

"You mean I'll actually be awake through the whole thing?"

"Of course. We strive to make C sections as similar as natural births that we can. You will be numb from the waist down, and will be able to see your baby take its first breath." The doctor explained.

"Oh no no no! I can't be awake! I don't wanna see them cut me open!"

The assistant came to stand by Zuri's side, "The painkiller is ready to be administered."

Zuri practically lept from the table to get away from the doctors assistant. Keta-ki placed his hands on her belly and ran his claws through her hair to sooth her. Her chest was absolutely heaving with panic. When he tried to steer her back to the table, he could see her eyes start to glaze over with tears. Keta-ki didn't want to purr to her in the presence of others, so he looked to the doctor for some other answer.

"She can be put to sleep for the procedure, if she wishes." The doctor offered.

"Zuri," Keta-ki asked, "is that what you want?"

She nodded.

"Go get the proper anesthesia." The doctor ordered.

Keta-ki guided Zuri back to the table and helped her get on it, "I will be right here when you wake up."

The shot was given, and Zuri quickly faded. They raised the table, briefly prepped her for surgery, and then the assistant handed over a small handheld tool. It looked like a fat pen. It was an advanced piece of equipment that knew the depth at which to cut. The doctor ran it up her stomach in a long, straight line.

Keta-ki had never been squeamish about blood, but seeing her being cut open did worry him some. As the doctor held away the skin, the assistant used a small sponge to absorb the blood. Keta-ki had adamantly requested that he deliver the baby or help with the C section. As they both looked back at him though, waiting for him to step in, he had a few doubts. Still, he walked forward and looked to the doctor for directions.

Keta-ki had the honor of reaching in and pulling out the baby head first. It squirmed and make little squeaks as it looked up at him. The baby was big, even for a yautja baby, and very plump. The baby still wasn't crying though, and he found that odd. When the doctors assistant reached for the child, Keta-ki spun the child away with a vicious growl.

He was panicked, thinking that something was wrong with it. Babies could swallow too much fluid during birthing and have trouble breathing or die. The same could happen during a C section. The baby kicked and wiggled, seeming full of life, but could have been suffocating. He gave the baby a light smack on its behind to startle it, hoping for the best.

It immediately started coughing, then burst into tears. It wailed frantically, its hands balled into fists. This was the one and only time that everyone was happy to hear the child screaming at the top of its lungs. Keta-ki tenderly washed the blood off the child, then tightly wrapped it up in a soft leather cloth. Now that it had started crying, it didn't seem like it was ever going to stop.

The doctor healed Zuri's incision and the scar was erased. A different injection woke her up, and her head immediately turned towards the sound of the baby's cries. The doctor asked her questions, making she there was no side effects of the drug. Then, she was helped to sit upright. Keta-ki gently handed over the screaming baby.

The child had the face of a yautja with the four mandibles, and reptilian skin. Yet, it didn't have the traditional drooping or blotching. It's skin was uniformly peach. It had small, blunt, tusks at the ends of its mandibles, but no tusks in the top of its mouth and no teeth at all. The baby had deep green eyes with sprinkles of bright gold.

It had Uri's eyes. Zuri held her baby, stroking and kissing it. The baby still wailed and squirmed, until it latched onto Zuri's breast and started feeding. She stared down at it lovingly, her smile almost too big for her face, and her eyes began to water. He would never understand oomans...crying when they are sad, angry, and even happy...but Keta-ki now had a family.


	12. Chapter 12

Zuri tried to do all the baby stuff on her own. When the baby started to cry at night, Keta-ki literally had to place his hand on her shoulder and force her to lay back down in bed. They had breast milk stored for later use, so there was no reason for her to be up every few hours. Keta-ki was used to dealing with sleep deprivation on hunts, so a baby was no big deal. He went into the nursery and picked up the child, lightly bouncing him in his arms.

There was a mini fridge in the wall of the nursery and Keta-ki grabbed one of the bottles, warmed it, and sat down in the chair in the corner. The child continued to cry loudly until its lips closed on the nipple of the bottle and it started to drink. After a few seconds, the babies eyes closed with its lips still over the bottle. Keta-ki gently rubbed his knuckles on its cheek to wake him and encourage him to keep feeding. When the baby finished the ration of milk, it started to fall asleep again and Keta-ki gently set him back down in the crib.

In the morning, Keta-ki was back in the nursery and as soon as Zuri woke up she came to find the baby immediately. It looked like she'd just popped up from the bed without combing her hair first or anything. As soon as she saw him with the baby though, she crossed her arms in front of her. Keta-ki couldn't help but feel that he was in some sort of trouble. Yautja females did not like anyone messing with their child except their mates, and if Zuri didn't like him caring for her child, that meant that she didn't see him as a mate.

He could understand her reluctance after what happened with Uri, but Keta-ki didn't move to hand over the child. He looked back down at the baby and continued what he was doing. Training to become a great hunter began the instant yautjas were born. Since the child was male, it was a females job to raise it, but a males job to train it. Whether Zuri liked it out not, Keta-ki was determined to train the child to his best ability.

He would dedicate several minutes a day with the child to early neurological stimulation. He would spend time just touching the baby, its toes, its fingers, its mandibles, making the child aware of them. Then, he would position the baby, lifting its arms, its legs, and turning it head. Those sorts of tiny exercises would start the neurological system earlier than was normally expected. And in yautja society, everything was about pushing for faster, better, and stronger.

Enrichment activities were important while it was young too. With thermal stimulation, he would introduce the child to different variations of hot and cold, allowing the child to squirm away if it didn't like it. Keta-ki tried to introduce the child to every different texture, letting its feet and hands touch each. Everything was incorporated: sight, sound, touch, smell, and even taste. The little hunting hound was growing fast and when the baby got tired of the attention, he would go through the same motions with the puppy.

But since the baby was still awake and not fussing, Keta-ki grabbed a small container off the shelf then sat back down in the chair. With Zuri watching him skeptically, he opened the container of powder and put a small dab of the substance on the knuckle of one finger. Then, he brought his knuckle to the baby's lips. At first, the baby didn't really notice, but then its compulsion to suck on things took over and its mouth closed over his finger. The babies eyes immediately shot wide open and its arms sprung up over its head.

Zuri gasped, and stepped forward to snatch the baby from his arms, "What are you doing to him?" She coddled and rocked the baby in her arms, trying to comfort it, even though the child didn't seem upset.

"It was a non harmful substance, I assure you. It was just very sour."

"Poor thing, you're going to stress him out."

"Small amounts of stress are good, preparing him to better withstand stress in later life."

Zuri shook her head.

"Meketre will become a great hunter...and with his eyes and skin, I figure that he's going to be wooing all the females too."

"I told you I was still deciding on a name...I might name him...Erick."

If he wanted her to see him as a strong but caring mate, he had to start acting like one, "The child's name is Meketre. We will not discuss it anymore."

Her eyebrows pulled down for a second, but then a smile started to spread to her lips. "Alright." She agreed reluctantly.

Keta-ki began instructing her on where everything was and how to use the items, as they varied from the things on earth. The drawers, shelves, cabinets, and the changing table was completely stocked. There was everything from clothes and diapers, to bottles and blankets, to toys. Stimulation, socialization, and enrichment were important for a newborn and he wanted to make sure Zuri was filled in on yautja ways of raising children. Though others did not hold the baby, he still needed to be socialized. Hearing and seeing others, and how Keta-ki interacted with them was key, so that was his next task.

Keta-ki grabbed a brown leather sort of back-pack with baby stuff inside, and slung it over his back. Then he handed a cloth wrap to Zuri to hold the baby in. The cloth was designed to keep the baby cool outside in the warm air. Keta-ki knew that they had to keep the walk short, but he was excited to show everyone the baby. And it would be good for Meketre to be introduced to new sounds and sights.

However, the walk did not go how Keta-ki planned. Right off the bat, they ran into a mated pair who were friends of Keta-ki's. They talked casually and didn't leave Zuri out of the conversation like others had on previous walks. Everything was going smoothly until Zuri asked if they wanted to hold the baby. They acted repulsed by the very idea.

The male had a snide comment then, "She wishes to pass off her baby to another family! I wonder if she'd let me try and breastfeed it too."

Keta-ki shoved her along to continue the walk with a growl, and Zuri muttered, "I'm sorry. I forgot that you said only the parents hold the baby."

Keta-ki insured her that it wasn't her fault, and that she would quickly adapt to the culture. They walked around the neighborhood, keeping to the more quiet streets when the baby started to fall asleep. Keta-ki was stopped then by a female he used to mate often, and she didn't have anything good to say to either of them. Keta-ki kept trying to urge Zuri along, but the female walked beside them. She seemed determined to get under Keta-ki's skin.

What seemed to affect Zuri the most though was when the female said, "What a big belly, and she already had the pup. She still looks pregnant!"

When the female finally left, Zuri frowned as she poked at her belly, and Keta-ki had to reassure her, "You're not fat."

"I know." She said glumly, "But isn't that how everyone is after they have a baby? Or does your species pop out a child and go right back to having abs?"

"Well, with our females, the bump is gone within a day or two. You should look back to normal in a matter of weeks."

Zuri groaned, "Yautja females are on some sort of steroid."

"It can seem like it, on occasion. Most females don't hunt, but the ones that do are the best of hunters. There are stories of females that have given birth during hunts, and with all the hormones coursing through them, they are madly protective. It gives them a bloodthirsty edge to their hunting."

When it finally seemed that they might make some friends, the baby started to cry. Zuri swayed back and forth to try and calm Meketre as she continued to listen to the conversion. They were trying to talk with another couple that lived nearby, but the baby got louder. Keta-ki watched Zuri rock and whisper to the baby, but it was still fussing. When he couldn't hear himself think, Keta-ki finally lifted the child into his arms and started purring, which quieted it immediately.

The young female seemed shocked, "The ooman can't even quiet her own baby."

Zuri was apparently done with being insulted, as she just turned and walked away. The couple gave Keta-ki strange looks, probably never having seen a female leave like that without its child. Keta-ki didn't bother saying any goodbyes, and quickly caught up with Zuri. She looked halfway between sad and angry, her eyes pouting but her hands in fists. He decided that would be the end of their walk and took her back home.


	13. Chapter 13

When they got inside, Zuri placed the baby in the crib, then asked him a question that he'd been dreading, "Since Uri is gone...what...what am I supposed to do now?" She fiddled with her nails for a second, then added, "Am I still a prisoner or...?"

The words were hard for him to say, "You cannot go back to Earth, but otherwise you are free to go."

"...I can't even start to think about leaving. I don't know where to go, or how to get a job on this planet!"

"Any work we would have an ooman preform is despicable, unless you go to other yautja settled planets. My advice is for you to find a loyal mate...If you wish, we can try to locate that male that protected you from me that one day."

He wanted her to say no, but instead, she actually looked like she was considering it. Jealousy boiled inside him, and his breathing became slow and shallow. He walked forward, crowding Zuri until her back hit a wall. She looked up at him with confusion and worry. He braced his arms against the wall at each side of her and let his heat and musk reach out to her.

Yautjas weren't ones to play coy, so be said it bluntly, "I will help you search for another partner if that is what you want-but know that I'd like to mate you."

Zuri let out a short giggle, as though the suggestion was ridiculous, but he wouldn't let that damage his pride.

When Keta-ki didn't back off, she tentatively asked, "Do you mean 'mate' like sex, or marriage?"

Keta-ke let out a deep purr and said, "I'd greatly enjoy both."

Zuri blushed, red color filling in her cheeks as she tried not to smile.

"Don't deny that you would enjoy it too. I can smell your arousal, just from you thinking about it right now."

Her mouth dropped.

Keta-ki wouldn't touch her, not until she gave him consent, and he didn't want to push her too fast. He leaned away, taking his hands off the wall. Keta-ki stared into her beautiful multicolored eyes for a moment, then turned away. He headed for his trophy room, already filled with several magnificent skulls. He would give them all to her if that's what it took-but if he proposed and she said no, she would get to keep the skull, so he had to make sure she wanted him as a mate first.

that it was time for him to start winning her over, and he was not about to play fair. One morning, he fed the baby, did some house work, and waited for Zuri to wake up. He knew she wasn't going to be all that happy when she did, so he made sure to have breakfast ready. Eventually, Zuri came out of the bedroom naked, only wrapped up in a shaggy fur pelt from the bed.

"Where's all my clothes?" She demanded.

"They were all maternity clothes, so I threw them out."

Her voice got high pitched and squeeky, "You threw all my clothes away? What am I supposed to wear?"

He responded casually, "Well, they were donated, but yes." Then, he held up a gorgeous dress for her, "But I bought you this instead."

Zuri grabbed it from him, looking it over. It was a stretchy fabric that would hug to her curves. The top V neck part of it would plunge down her chest, showing off her cleavage. It was a short dress, ending just under her ass, and allowing for the most movement. It was a deep red with an exotic sort of camouflage-pattern, and there were slash marks in the fabric a though it had been mauled by an animal.

"I...no, I can't wear this."

"I'll take your out and buy you whatever you want, but you'll have to wear that dress or the pelt that your have wrapped around your torso for now...unless you'd prefer to go naked, and in that case I wouldn't mind."

Of course, she settled for the dress. As soon as she had it on, Keta-ki couldn't stop staring at her. And the more he fawned over her, the more she liked the dress. When they went out, she started picking out plain boring clothes, but then ended up buying dressed, skirts, corsets, and more. Keta-ki was happy to spoil her.

The middle of his day was a full day for her, as yautja days were almost twice as long as earths. As she was getting ready for bed, Keta-ki nudged his mattress closer to hers while she wasn't looking. Then he did it again, just moving it an inch. Zuri glanced at him suspiciously for a second, then climbed in bed and got comfy. Before she shut her eyes, he bumped his bed closer.

"What are you doing?"

"If we push the beds together, we will have one very big bed to play on." He tempted her.

She bit her lip and shook her head, her cheeks gaining color again. He left his bed where it was, just a bit closer to hers now, and headed for the door. She needed her sleep. The hunting hound was getting nippy and hyper, so he decided to take him out for a run. Since the hound was still young though, it didn't have the strength or stamina to keep up with Keta-ki.

He ended up having to pick up the puppy and use him as weights on the way back home. Back at the house, he put the hound in the floor and it went right for a drink of water, then flopped down in its bed. Odd noises were coming from the living room, and he quickly went to go investigate. He quickly recognized the grunts and cries as sex sounds. Keta-ki found that the hologram had been left on, and it was a recording of an amorous couple enjoying each others bodies.

Keta-ki's body warmed, an automatic response to mating. He flushed away any thoughts of sex and turned off the screen. He went to check on Zuri then, and was happy to see that she was awake. Sometimes she slept more than eight hours at a time. She was on the end of the bed, combing her fingers through her long, dark hair.

His throat tightened and he couldn't get out even a simple greeting. His heart started to pound, finding that she was very obviously staring at his package. After a moment, her eyes flickered up to meet his as her eyebrows rose, seeming impressed with the bulge ghost she could see bring his clothes. His loins stirred in response to such a provocative gesture. He was almost ready to pounce on her when the baby started crying.

She dropped her hands from her hair and stood to go to the nursery. Keta-ki followed her. He watched her. He wanted to undress himself and really show her what he had to offer. But Zuri fed the baby and then brushed past him without so much as a glance.

He followed her to the kitchen, trying to push away the naughty thoughts in his head as she prepared herself a meal. Keta-ki wasn't really hungry, but he made himself a plate as well. He took small bites, his body still feeling overly eager. However, she hardly looked at him as they ate. When Keta-ki's mind finally switched from sex to the food though, she spoke up.

"I wonder if that table is the right height for our pelvises to be aligned during sex." She gestured to the octagonal prisms that Keta-ki had once thrown across the room.

Keta-ki just about choked on the slice of meat as it went down his throat. His head slowly turned to stare at the cluster of tables, his mind quickly coming up with at least six different positions to have her in on the table. Before he could respond, Zuri continued eating, acting as if she'd never said anything. He sipped his drink, his fingers overly tight around the glass. She stood and cleaned her plate, then headed to the bedroom.

Before she reached the room though, she turned and commented, "Actually, I think the table is short enough that if you leaned back I could straddle you." Then, she continued into the bedroom as though it was just a fleeting idea.

Keta-ki was left sitting there stunned, completely caught of guard. But she was in the bedroom. She'd made that comment, then gone to the bedroom. With that realization, he jumped up and stormed to the bedroom door. He tried to slide the door open to get to her, but found that it had been locked.

Keta-ki had to force himself to calm down, as he was suddenly acting like a sex-deprived young blood. He wanted to knock the door down and tear the clothes from her body. How dare she tease him like that! When he realized that he was pacing in front of her door, Keta-ki drew in a deep breath and went to the kehrite. He needed to destroy something.

When Zuri walked in, he tried to ignore her. With his thoughts still on sex though, he was missing every single target. Keta-ki switched from weapon to weapon, trying to find his focus. Finally, he settled for the weapon that be was most trained in: the throwing knives. He got them out, and watched Zuri stand in front of the target board as he'd had her do before.

He lifted one of the tiny blades, taking in a slow and steady breath as he aimed, but then Zuri asked, "Do you think the floor is too cold for us to have sex on?"


	14. Chapter 14

He knew that he deserved a fair amount of teasing, but she was just asking for it. She couldn't possibly expect any male to be able to pass up such an opportunity. Keta-ki carelessly tossed the knives to the ground, and they skidded away. Then, he stalked forward and hovered over Zuri, his yellow eyes greedily looking over her whole body. Everything from her eyes, to her pink lips, to the curve of her hips had his body surging with desire.

Her heavy eyelids and deep breathing meant that she was taking in his musk, and it was having the intended effect. She touched him first, sliding her palms over his abs up to his chest. He wanted to pace himself, enjoy the moment, but he'd been wanting to touch her for too long. Keta-ki wrapped his arm around her, grabbing her ass. His other arm went around her back, holding her firmly against his body. He pressed his mouth to her soft lips, kissing her with urgency.

Her fingers reached up into his hair, just feeling the sensitive dreds gently at first. But Uri must have shown her things, because she started to squeeze and bend the strands just right. It made his legs weak. It made his head dizzy. Keta-ki let out a lusty rumble as he pressed her against the wall, his hips connecting with hers, and showing her just how much he was enjoying her touch.

She brought her legs up to tangle around his waist, the friction driving him mad with lust. He worked his mouth over hers, reveling in the unique feel and taste. Her hand fisted around several of his dreds, and he dropped to his knees with a sharp inhale. His body surged with heat, with need. Keta-ki leaned forward, setting her on the floor.

Still panting from their kiss, he inhaled her scent. It was different from what he was used to-but it was female, it was sweet, and it was tinted with arousal. He nuzzled her neck, taking in her smell before he bit her. She squealed and squirmed under him, but he made sure not to break skin. Her chest was heaving when he removed his teeth, and he loved seeing her quaking body underneath him.

Zuri lifted her head, placing small kisses on his chest, then up to his shoulder. The sensation was incredible. When she looked back into his eyes, he couldn't help but place another kiss on that beautiful face. He bumped his hips against her as his claws went into her hair. She moaned and tightly wrapped her arms around him, her hands sweeping over his muscular back.

When her hips starting tipping up to meet him, Keta-ki couldn't wait anymore. He untied his loincloth and tossed it behind him. When he started to slide her dress up though, she stilled. He didn't know if he'd done something wrong. Keta-ki had never mated an ooman, but he was aware of their anatomy and the need for him to be extra gentle with her.

Remembing that ooman females had that little external bud that excited and aroused them, he reached his fingers between her legs to find it. Zuri twisted away and brought a leg up to block him though. He looked to her face, as to ask her what he'd done wrong. Her eyes were glazing over though and her scent was flooded with fear and anxiety. Something was wrong.

Zuri scrambled up and rushed to pull her dress back down, "I'm sorry. It just doesn't feel right."

She started to walk away, but then turned and whimpered, "I knew Uri for years, and I feel like I'm never going to be able to let that go...I really like you Keta-ki. But, I just want to go home. I want to go back to earth. My mother was turning 78 before you came, and now I wasn't there for her. I have six brothers and two sisters who probably think I'm dead."

"You would go back to Earth? What about Meketre?"

Her eyes started to spill over with tears, "I know you would take good care of him. You're a great father."

"It is illegal for you to return to earth. If you were to be caught, you would be killed. You are ooman-there would not even be a trial."

Zuri nodded, but said, "I talked to a smuggler in the market once. He said that he could get me to earth."

"No Zuri. A man like that...he would get you to earth, then turn you in for money. And if you disappear, the whole yautja race will be looking for you. The first place they will look will be earth."

She shook her head, "Is there any way? Can you get me back home?"

Keta-ki walked forward and grabbed her hand, entwining her fingers with his before he brought the back of her hand against his cheek, "I've come to love you Zuri. I would do anything for you...but you ask too much of me."

"Please. I'll never fit in here. I'll never be happy here. I've been here a year. I just want to go home."

"You don't know that. I can make you happy. We will raise Metetre, and you will be happy."

She shook her head, "I'm going to try to go to Earth eventually, with it without your help."

Keta-ki dropped her hand, "It is illegal. I uphold the law. I was to become an arbitrator." He brushed past her, disappoint flooding in on him, but he stopped at the door, "I'm going to take a cold shower...would you like to join me?"

He tied his loincloth back on and slid open the door. She hesitated, but then followed him out. He led her to the bathroom and turned on the shower, making it only mildly cold. The jets shot down from the ceiling, patting down on his back, as well as shot up from jets on the floor. He let his head fall back, the water flowing over his face and dripping down his dreads.

Then, he looked over to Zuri, "You can leave your clothes on."

She tentatively stepped under the water, her hair weighing down and clinging to her face. Kata-ki still couldn't help himself. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her closer, then took his claws and gently moved her hair away. He let out a loud sigh. More than anything he just wanted her to be happy.

"I'll do it-but it won't be easy."

Zuri gasped and jumped up, flinging her arms around his neck. Keta-ki's arms tightened around her back as a soft rumbling purr escaped him. It would take some time to come up with a safe plan, and in that time he hoped to change her mind. And if not, he wanted to be stern and decide what was best for her-but he was afraid that a life on earth was best. It would leave him without a mate, and to raise a child alone though.

Since he was an executioner, he already had many rights that an arbitrator did. He could go to planet to planet without needing prior clearance, and he could revisit specific spots without raising suspicion. He had his own personal ship, and not a clan owned craft. And, his ship was equipped with the best cloaking and jamming technology, making him untraceable even to other yautjas. Technically, he could drop Zuri off on Earth easily.

However, they would not let just any ooman go back to Earth. She knew of their kind, and only under rare circumstances was an ooman allowed to keep living on Earth once they had seen a yautja. They would search for her, and without a doubt, they find her. Then, they would likely kill her. The ramifications of letting Zuri go, if they knew he helped her, would prevent Keta-ki from ever becoming an arbitrator.

He bent forward until Zuri's toes were back on the ground , "We will need to fake your death."

"How?"

Keta-ki turned off the water, noticing that she was getting goosebumps, "I don't know. I will have to think about it."

He ushered her out of the shower and they dried and changed clothes. The event would have to be believable, so they would need to make it appear like she committed suicide, had an accident, or was killed. Yautja medicine was too advanced to have her die of any illnesses. They would need a motive if she were to commit suicide. They would also need evidence.

Their stunt would likely involve a hologram trick then. It would need to happen away from houses and buildings, as the security cameras were too advanced. They would detect the hologram, but a simple bio mask recording would not. Still, they might need a body, a dead human cadaver. It was not going to be easy to pull off, and Keta-ki was ambivalent about whether or not taking her to Earth was the right decision.


	15. Chapter 15

After the shower, he went to go find Zuri. He slid open the nursery door, finding her inside. She was in fresh clothes, a gorgeous blue skirt and top that he'd picked out for her. She had Meketre in her arms. She was swaying back and forth as she looked down into the babies green and gold eyes-they were identical to Uri's.

"You know, Uri didn't want to do the things he did." Keta-ki walked up behind her, placing his hands on her forearms, "He was manipulated into assassinating that couple, someone else used him. Arbitrators are in pursuit of the yautja that planned the crimes Uri committed. I know that doesn't make what happened any better, but I thought you may want to know."

Zuri swallowed and nodded.

0o0oo0o0

The blazing sun was beating down on her tan skin as she knelt in the garden. She wiped her forehead then began ripping out more weeds. She never wanted to do the work, but once she had started, she found it calming somehow. Zuri started to think that the heat was getting to her head though, as a weed right in front of her fingertips uprooted itself. It lifted into the air, its leaves twizzling back and forth as though someone was rolling it between their fingers.

Her heart began to beat faster, "Uri!"

She launched herself at his invisible form excitedly, stumbling when her aim was off. She clipped his leg and would have fell on her face if he hadn't caught her. She could feel his big hands around her as he hauled her upright. She smiled broadly at the empty air in front of her, only the slightest bit of shimmer visible. When her hands reached out, her palms only found metal and leather.

"Why are you here? It's not even dark out."

"I wanted to see you. I never know when it's going to be the last time I do. They are following my movements closer every day."

Zuri wrapped her arms around his torso and leaned her head against him. She could feel something wet on the side of her face though, and reached to wipe it off. Her fingers came back painted with green. She blinked at it, then back at his invisible form. She knew it was blood.

"You're hurt! Someone attacked you!"

Uri let her drag him inside the house. She closed the blinds, locked the door, and Uri let the invisibility drop. She gasped at seeing the bloody wounds on his chest. She grabbed a towel, got it wet, and began wiping off the blood. Uri trilled lightly as she tended to his wounds.

"Who did this to you?"

"A bounty hunter...some wanna-be arbitrator sent to execute me. But don't worry, he doesn't know I come to earth at all. I always give him the slip before coming-he won't know I'm here unless I want him too."

Zuri rinsed the towel and lifted it to his wounds again, but he caught her wrist, "I'm fine."

"You need stitches."

He growled at her playfully, "I am fine." Zuri reluctantly dropped the rag in the sink. "Do you like to hunt?"

"I don't know. I've never tried."

Uri stood up straighter, chest puffing out, and his voice growing louder, "You've never hunted? What sort of planet is this? Where do you get your food?"

Zuri started to giggle, "A friend of mine has goats in a field. Every so often I walk over, throw a rope over ones neck, and bring it home to be butchered."

"There is no sport, no challenge! Follow me, I will teach you how to really hunt."

Uri grabbed her hand and led her outside, staying invisible until they were under the cover of the jungle. Then, he grabbed a small metal object from his back. With a click of a button it folded out into a crossbow. He stuffed it into her hands then produced a sleek projectile similar to an arrow. Zuri looked down at the weapon, then to the expanse of green foliage.

"What am I shooting?"

Uri scanned the jungle, then said, "Anything you wish. There are many life forms here and you are not bound by yautja laws."

"Yes, but I am under human laws. I can't just go shooting things. I'd need a permit, a registered weapon, the right clothes even."

Uri huffed, "A little law breaking won't hurt anything. Jump on my back, I'll find you a good post." When she hesitated, Uri grabbed her and slung her over his back.

Her legs tightened around his waist as he stared to climb a tree and she tried not to strangle Uri as she clung to him. She stared down at the ground as it got father away. She'd never had a fear of heights, but hanging on someones back as they climbed a tree like a squirrel was a different matter. When they reached a sturdy branch, he had to pry her off him. She wobbled and Uri had to steady her as she sat down.

He sat beside her, and grabbed her hands to show her how to use the crossbow. His claws went under her chin to position her head, and he pointed out a bird for her to aim at. He kept his arm under hers and his body pressed close. His finger moved hers to the trigger.

"Take a deep breath, aim, and pull the trigger as you slowly exhale."

She did exactly as he said, but the dart flew right over the birds head. The animal cocked its head, squawked, then flew off. Uri took off his mask, grabbed the crossbow, and shot it way in the distance. She watched as he swung down, and pulled the small arrow from a tree trunk. When he returned, he held up a skewered slug.

"Damn."

The yautja had exceptional skills, and yet she couldn't even drive a stick shift. She tried over and over, to no avail, even aiming at bigger targets. Uri handed over a different weapon, similar to a gun with a silencer. He showed her how to use it, and she loved having him so close to her, teaching her.

She shot at deer and squirrels, birds, and lizards but hit nothing. When he produced another weapon, like a collapsible spear, she just laughed at him. So he gave her weapon after weapon, having her try each. She tried throwing spikes, a net gun, and more. It was horrible, especially since Uri had to go retrieve every spent projectile.

Finally, he left her sitting in the tree for several minutes to go to his ship for other weapons. Uri came back with an ornately decorated, very fat, hand-held gun. As he passed it over, it was much lighter than she expected, but she still had to hold it with both hands. Her fingers fit in a grooved hole on the back while her thumb was upright against a button. Her other hand supported the muzzle of the gun.

Uri simply said, "Point and click."

As they waited for a target, Zuri stared at him. She kept her head looking strait so he wouldn't notice, but admired him from the corner of her eyes. She loved the way the gold beads in his hair swayed when he turned his head. She bit her lip just looking at the groupings of muscle all over his body. Uri perked up at finding an animal within range, and pointed it out to her.

It was such a small fuzzy animal, and it wasn't very close, so she did her best to aim. She squinted her eyes, exhaled, and pulled the trigger. A burning glow of blue exploded from the gun like an enormous firework. As soon as it hit the ground near the little rodent, it exploded with a huge bang. Like a mini atomic bomb, a rush of wind caught her hair, and the whole area lit up with bright light.

Zuri's jaw dropped. As the smoke cleared, she could see the deep crater in the earth. The surrounding brush was black and singed. A tree near the impact began to whine and creek before its trunk cracked and the tree fell to the ground with a huge thumping whoosh. Her head slowly looked down at the gun in her hands.

At first, she let out a dark chuckle, but then shoved the gun back into Uri's hands, "You had me completely vaporize that guinea pig!"

Uri started purring before he pulled her in for a kiss. It didn't matter that she'd annihilated part of a rainforest just to kill one guinea pig-she was female, and she had hunted. Zuri had killed something, and that was turning him on. His skin was burning hot against her body. With his mouth moving against hers, her hands went to his body, just craving to touch him.

When he leaned closer and she started to fall off the branch, they both seemed to agree it was time to go back to the house. She carefully climbed into his back and he swung down from the branches until he could safely drop to the ground. Zuri looked back at the gaping hole and the charred earth. The guinea pigs body was nowhere to be seen. They raced away from the scene of the crime, right to Zuri's bed.


	16. Chapter 16

Keta-ki couldn't sleep. He'd always been a light sleeper-waking up at every little noise, but then always able to fall back asleep quickly. Now, even with the house quiet most nights, he could hardly shut his eyes. He laid on his back in bed night after night, numbly staring at the ceiling. He couldn't stop thinking about what Zuri had said, about what she wanted him to do.

He had agreed. He was proud to think that every word he ever spoke, especially to her, was a promise. So, when the lights in the house brightened in time with the rising sun, he got out of bed. His eyelids felt heavy and his muscles protested the lack of sleep. Keta-ki looked over to the other bed, where Zuri was sound asleep.

She was buried under a pile of furs with the hound in bed with her. The puppy had gotten used to sleeping at her feet, but was now too big for that. Still, Zuri wouldn't make him sleep on the floor, so the hound laid right on top of her legs. She didn't seem to mind it, seeing as his bony protrusions were only just starting to come in. At first, Keta-ki had been revolted by the idea of her sleeping next to an animal, but the hound was protective over her.

Hounds were raised to obey yautja and see everything else as prey, but the puppy had latched onto Zuri as its master anyway. When Keta-ki moved in bed, the hound lifted its head. When Keta-ki entered the house or the bedroom, he was always greeted with growls and bared teeth. The hound still obeyed Keta-ki, but its loyalty was with Zuri. It was a shame that she couldn't take the hound with her to Earth as a guard dog.

He put on a loincloth, adorned various pieces of jewelry, then went into the nursery. Meketre was bigger, but still plump like a baby. He was weened off breastmilk and eating soft foods now. The pup was growing and learning quickly. Keta-ki had simple puzzles for him to play with and the child was starting to speak.

Zuri had broken down in tears when Meketre first said 'momma'. It had been a heart-touching revelation for her, but yet she was still set on leaving her pup behind. Keta-ki tried not to shame for that, tried not to feel that yautja females were superior. A yautja female would die for her sucklings to keep them safe, while oomans were known to give their babies up for adoption. It was not Zuri's fault if her instincts were not as strong-the pup would be well cared for anyway.

That was Keta-ki's mission for the day, to ensure that Meketre would always have a good home. Zuri would soon be out of the picture, and if the plan went ary, he needed to know that Meketre would be taken care of in his absence. He had friends who he thought might agree to take the child in. It was a good backup, and was necessary anyway in case Keta-ki was mortally wounded on a job, or during a hunt. However, in order to get a family to agree, Keta-ki had to lie.

Yautjas were not accustomed to lying like oomans were. Superficial comments, half-truths, and lies were welcomed in ooman culture, only being shunned if the truth came out later. Hiding information and lying was considered treason to his kind. Lying diminishes trust, and would damage his pride and honor, even if no one ever saw through the lie. To keep his friends safely away from aiding a crime though, it was necessary.

When Keta-ki arrived at his fifth destination though, he was starting to think it was a lost cause. There were about eight pups of various heights running about the dwelling. The female invited him in and they sat down in the livingroom. Keta-ki watched two male pups wrestling on the ground while a different pup ran circles around them. Another pup was tripped by a sneeky young female pup hiding under a table, then they began to fight as well.

Keta-ki looked to the bearer sitting in front of him, which had a suckling attached to her breast, and had his doubts that she could handle Meketre. Still, he would not underestimate a female, "I've come to ask a favor. I'd like to write you into my will, to inherent all monetary sums and belongings-if you agree to take in a hybrid pup as well."

"My mates are all on hunts, and I don't expect them to return for many months."

"Still, I'd like to discuss the matter. When they return, you can convey the information and reach a decision."

"What kind of hybrid?" She asked curiously.

"Ooman and yautja."

"Yours?"

"It is the suckling of a badblood." He admitted reluctantly. This was usually where he was rejected. "It is not of my blood, but I wish for the pup to be well looked after."

"Badblood has never entered my lineage. The pup cannot tarnish my family's reputation. And what of the ooman mother?"

"The ooman remains in my care for now, however," his mandibles were stiff as he forced the lie, "she is unstable lately. She threatens to commit unhonorable suicide. I fear that she will not be in the child's life for much longer. I care for the child already, so if she dies, I will keep him."

The female made a disgusted noise, "Suicide, oomans are such a finicky bunch. Will you raise the pup yourself then?"

"I will be in the child's life as much as necessary, but he will be trained by the best master I can afford."

"Why invest so much time and money into a badblood's hybrid pup? Ooman blood will make it weak. It's unlikely it will live past its chiva."

Saying that he was in love with the mother would not get him far, "The child is part yautja. Hybrid or not, all pups should be raised to be warriors. Growing up knowing that its sire was a badblood will give the child motivation to prove himself otherwise."

The female clicked her tusks in thought, then said, "I will mention it to my mates. In the meantime, I'd like to see the pup. I will decide if he is warror material or not."

Keta-ki stood and crossed his arm over his chest with a slight bow in thanks, then maneuvered to the door without tripping over any of her rowdy pups.

The next order of business involved a hunt. If they were going to stage her death away from the city, he still needed something to bring back as further evidence. The high tech security cameras in his house and in the city would detect a heartbeat. Yautjas had a keen sense of smell, and would be able to tell if a body was dead if they got close enough. He couldn't carry Zuri back, even if she was drugged and appeared dead.

He needed an ooman body, and so he needed to go on a hunt. Keta-ki headed to Earth, picking a place remotely near the place he'd found Zuri. He mechanically strapped his armor on, and set out in search if an ooman that looked relatively similar to Zuri. Cloaked in the darkness, he systematically went from dwelling to dwelling searching for a target. Hunts always made him feel charged, capable, and full of purpose.

As he quickly dispatched two oomans, he did not feel the same powerful energy as on other hunts. Keta-ki drug the bodies outside under the stars, one of a female, one a male. He ripped the ceremonial dagger from its sheath and began to butcher the male for sacrifice to Paya. The skin was removed, and he strung the bloodied corpse high in a tree. He knelt down below, right in front of the pool of blood that was collecting under the body.

He reached out and dipped one claw into the red substance, then drew a line of blood down his forehead to his chin. Before asking for forgiveness from the god Paya, he removed his mask and set it beside him. It was not unusual for a yautja to say prayers in secrecy within the bio mask recording them, so no one would suspect that Kata-ki was doing anything unusual. He stored the females body in his ship, but made a second puddle of blood beside the other one to make it appear like the body had been hung in the tree like the male's.

He knelt in front of the second puddle of blood, then put back on his bio mask. He made sure not to look up in the tree as he cleaned his dagger and left. If anyone audited his mask recordings, they would see him kill two oomans, would see two puddles of blood, and think nothing of it. Keta-ki slumped in the ships main control chair, his claws manipulating the holograms. He still needed motivation for Zuri's fictitious suicide, and a convincing hologram.


	17. Chapter 17

Keta-ki went to the female yautjas house again, this time with Meketre. They sat down in the living room as last time, but she did not have the suckling with her. Each of her children squeezed in around him to try and get a look at Meketre. They all wanted to poke and touch him, while Keta-ki tried to convince the female to take the pup in. He hoped that it would not be necessary for her to take the child, but he had to make sure Meketre would be cared for just in case.

Finally, the female shooed away her children and reached for the pup. She picked him up under his arms, letting his legs dangle. She examined the pup, holding it away from her chest. Her mandibles clicked occasionally as she considered the pup. Finally, her eyes narrowed.

"It is far too chubby for its age. A yautja pup would be loosing the baby fat by now." She declared.

"He will loose the weight, gain figure, then muscle I assure you. Both parents were fit, and the pup is healthy."

"Its teeth are starting to come in, which is good-however, they look more blunt than I'd expect."

"It is a feature that will not hinder its hunts."

She tilted the child some, still examining it, "It's nails as well are rounder. If they are frail like an oomans he will but be able to do anything with them."

Keta-ki used his claws quite often, and had no comment to try and make the child seem more acceptable.

"Its skin is so light. It will not burn in the sun will it? That would be a great hindrance."

"The pup seems light and heat tolerant thus far."

"And what is this?" She ran her thumb over its bellybutton.

"A scar from umbilical cord attachment." Yautjas did not have bellybuttons, and Keta-ki was glad at least that the pup didn't have male nipples like oomans did, or the female really would have picked on the pup.

Since she seemed chose to rejecting the child, Keta-ki rose and and tried to grab the child from her. He had to be careful though. A females first reaction to someone trying to grab at a child was aggression. Though the pup was not hers, she reacted the same. Her mandibles spread wide with challenge as she swept the child out of his reach. He quickly tried to drown out her growl with his deep purrs.

The female gawked at him for a second, then apologetically handed the pup over. When Keta-ki headed for the door, she said, "I'll happily take him, whether my mates agree or not. Come back with a contract when you are ready."

Meketre's future was secured. That gave Keta-ki a little comfort at least, but there was still work to do. Back at the house, once the pup was taking a nap, he sought Zuri out. She was on the bed, looking down at a tablet and reading something. The hunting hound lifted its head and let out a snarl as Keta-ki entered.

"We need to make small recordings everyday or so, showing you in distress, for evidence. There are cameras in the house that do not luck up sound, but mask recordings would be better."

She turned off the tablet, and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Anything, everything. Throw tantrums, act like an ooman. We need it to look like you are unhappy."

They went out for a walk in a park near the city that had several acres of woods. Zuri was better at acting than he'd expected. With his mask in and recording, they had evidence of her unstable behavior, crying, and tantrums. She went as far as making shallow cuts on her arms with a piece of rock. Keta-ki had been so alarmed at the self mutilation that be took her straight home.

He was worried that her acting wasn't acting, and she really was that unhappy. He had a tight grip around her forearm while his other arm held the child. Keta-ki forced Zuri inside the house and took off his mask. As soon as he did, Zuri wiped the tears away though and reached for Meketre, acting as if nothing had happened. She smiled and lightly bounced him in her arms.

"Medical room, now." Keta-ki demanded.

She followed him in and he grabbed her waist to haul her up into the table. He roughly grabbed her arm, looking at the jagged cuts that were still bleeding a little. Keta-ki grabbed the enzyme cream, and applied it to her cuts. They vanished quickly, not leaving so much as a scab or a scar. Then, he cleaned the blood off her arm.

"What were you thinking?" He hissed.

"Your mad about the cuts? I thought you said it needed to look real. Well, that's what some people on Earth do when they are depressed. I knew you'd be able to heal them straight away."

Keta-ki brushed his knuckles over her cheek, "I don't like it."

"Alright, I won't do it again." She put her hand on his chest, giving him a light shove before she hoped down from the table.

The final and most important piece of their plan required a hologram of her actually killing herself. It needed to look and move realistically. Taking a poison would bot look convincing, and they would ask questions about how she came in possession of poison. Keta-ki always carried at least one weapon with him, even during their walks. He needed to design a convincing hologram of her talking a weapon from him.

His mask would be recording the event, to it needed to be the right color, size, and distance away to look real. Sound would need to be perfect. He'd need to look down at some point before the event, showing evidence of the weapon strapped to him. He would have to make sure not to reveal the weapon on his hip during the event though, as the hologram Zuri would appear to have it. And even if he could get it to work, they had one problem.

The hologram would make Zuri look dead, and then he had to shut it off and grab the real body to bring back. To do that, he had to take off his mask. He didn't know if that made sense though. Her body would be laying I front of him, and what purpose would taking off the mask hold? If someone asked him that question, he wouldn't have an answer.

The only other option was to hack into the bio masks recording and flawlessly cut out the part where he takes the mask off. If done correctly, it would go from looking down at the hologram and skip to him picking up the real ooman body. If someone rewound the recording and watched it, it would appear seamless. If anyone was watching his live recordings though, they would catch a glitch. It was a reasonable risk.

The ooman body had already been modified to look more like Zuri. It was stored safely on his ship, ready to be dropped off in the woods before a walk. Zuri would have to accompany him on the walk for the house to record her leaving, but then before the hologram started, she would have to go back and hide on his ship. His personal ship did not have any severance cameras, so moving the body and hiding Zuri was not complicated. But they needed that hologram.

Yautja technology was far advanced, and his home computer was capable of constructing a hologram. What was lacking, was Keta-ki's focus and skill. He tried to graph other recordings of Zuri into the hologram, making sure it looked real. He worked for hours as the hound played, racing about, tearing up decoy animals. The baby kept crying and Zuri seemed to move back and forth around the house.

When the hologram didn't turn out how Keta-ki wanted, his temper soared. His mandibles flared wide at the tablet and he let out a booming roar. When that didn't make him feel any better, he rocketed his anger at the room. He picked up the couch and hurdled it across the room. Then, he beat his fists down onto wall.

Zuri popped her head out of the nursery, "What the hell is going on?"

Keta-ki's hands clenched into fists, his chest heaving.

She tentatively forward to place her hand on his arm, "Are you ok? What's wrong?"

Keta-ki jerked away from her with a growl, "You would put yourself in danger, leave your child, and tarnish my honor! For what? To see your pathetic ooman family? To eat chocolate? Make money? You are running away!"

She was instantly defensive, "I'm not running away from anything! Your all a bunch of brutish monsters, that's why I want to leave!"

"You're just holding a grudge because some yautjas pick on you, and give you mean looks." He hissed.

Zuri started to cry, "No one even held a funeral for Uri. This planet is all hunting, and death without remorse. There is no monogamy, no love. Honor and pride is held above all else, above family. You are a cold, narcissistic bastard!"

"Funerals are uncommon for our species, more of an ooman tradition. If you wanted one held for him, you should have asked! Everyone dies eventually, carrying the weight of it with you will only make your life miserable. You need to let Uri go."

She wiped her eyes and glared at him.

Keta-ki stepped forward and wrapped his hands around her throat, "I haven't taken a mate since I laid eyes on you. I want no one else. I would risk my life and honor for you, yet you do not appreciate it!"

A bubbling growl came from the hound, who was closing in on him. The hound was overly protective. Though Keta-ki had his hands around her throat, he was not hurting her. Keta-ki growled back and kicked at the hound, trying to get him to back off. However, that only made the hound launch an attack.


	18. Chapter 18

The yaut hound reared up on its hind legs and it's powerful jaws locked onto Keta-ki's arm. The animal could have torn a limb off, but it was not yet fully grown. Keta-ki released her throat with a hiss of pain, and turned on the hound. He beat his fists down on the animal. Zuri tried to get in between them.

"Stop stop, you're hurting him!" She was more concerned with the hound then Keta-ki's bleeding arm.

When Keta-ki stomped down on the hounds front paw, the animal yelped and finally let him go. The hound stood its ground, ready to launch, and growled at Keta-ki. Zuri tried to shield the animal. When Keta-ki moved forward though, the animal attacked, clipping Zuri while trying to get to the yautja. She screeched in pain as the hound knocked her to the ground, its claws digging into her belly.

Keta-ki chased the hound into the basement, grabbed a katana, and then went to go finish the animal off. The hound was too big, and too aggressive. He should never have let her keep one. They were breed for hunting, not companions. Zuri held her wounded midsection and ran down after him. Again, she got in the middle of their fight.

But this time, she gave the hound a command, "Lay down."

The hound instantly obeyed, but Keta-ki raised his weapon, "He hurt you. I will have his hairless pelt on my bed!"

Zuri blocked him, "It was an accident; he was protecting me."

The hound snarled at Keta-ki but made no move to get up. He had given the Hound to her as a gift, and even though he had the authority to take it away, he hesitantly lowered his blade. She was right, the hound was only protecting her. He would feel dishonorable if he took away her gift. He need to destroy something though. Keta-ki's rage was returning full blast.

He grabbed her arm to haul her away from the dangerous hound and stomped upstairs. He shut the basement door, trapping the hound for now. Zuri frowned at him. Keta-ki began to pace. With a final decision, he grabbed the tablet that held the unfinished hologram project, and crushed it in his hands.

He scattered the pieces at her feet, "I won't help you Zuri. I can't. It's against everything I know."

Zuri gaped at the broken pieces, then screamed, "I hate you! I will get to earth on my own! I don't need your help!"

"You have my heart, Zuri. And to that child, you are his whole world, and he will need you. More time is needed for you to move on from Uri, but this was his world, and you can be a part of it." He turned away from her but added, "I won't stop you though. You are free to leave if that is what you truly want."

She seemed indecisive, on the verge of tears but also anger. Keta-ki hoped for the best, but then she swiveled away from him. Zuri flung open the basement door and the hound quickly emerged to take her side. It huffed and grunted at Keta-ki. Then, with the beast at her heels, she headed for the front door.

Kata-ki panicked, "Where are you going?"

"You said I was free to go, so I'm going. Don't wait up."

She slid open the door and walked out. Keta-ki's anger faltered into worry. He stopped the door from sliding closed and watched her walk away. She still had gashes in her stomach that hadn't been healed. She was going to her herself in trouble, and Keta-ki had the urge to follow her, but turned back inside instead. The hound would protect her.

Keta-ki packed her clothes and shoved them in the corner of the bedroom. Hours passed and she still didn't return. He tore up her bed and discarded the pieces. It was midday, when she usually took a nap since yautja days were longer then earths. Still, she didn't come back.

He had expected her to take a walk, cool down, then come right back. When she didn't, he figured that she was searching for that merchant, that smuggler. Still, hours had passed. Zuri should have found him early enough, made a deal, then come home. Finally, he decided to check his account.

Zuri had access to his funds. All she had to do was scan her hand and she could buy whatever she wanted. He found that she had bought food, short-distance travel, and rented out a room. The place she was staying at was still within the city, relatively safe, and allowed pets. Zuri was out on her own, and she was doing just fine without him.

Feeling spiteful, Keta-ki packed her other belongings. Then, he had the jewelry, clothes, and other miscellaneous items delivered to her hotel room. He disposed of the ooman body in his ship. Then, he tried to erase any trace of her from his house. Keta-ki even threw away all the chocolate in his cabinets.

When it grew dark out and the house lights dimmed, he went to bed. Finally, he had all of his soft, valuable furs back to himself. However, he found that they smelled like Zuri. He couldn't sleep. The smell made him ache in ways he'd never felt before.

Keta-ki tried his best to keep track of Zuri without leaving the house. He watched the city's surveillance videos, listened for word of any ooman activity, and checked his account often. He made sure that she couldn't go far by temporarily putting a spending limit on his account. Several days passed. Then, Keta-ki heard the hound scratching at the door.

He paced Meketre back in his crib and sprinted to the door, eager to see Zuri again. He slid open the door to find the young hound sitting in front of him. It hoped up and pushed itself past Keta-ki's legs to get inside. He looked around outside, but Zuri wasn't there. He was more worried about her without the protective hound at her side.

Keta-ki dressed and grabbed his mask, determined to go find her, and make sure she was ok. The hound flopped down in the middle of the room though, seeming relaxed. If Zuri had been attacked the hound would have fought. And if her attacker had gotten away, the hound would have came home and been anxious. Zuri had sent the animal away on purpose.

Keta-ki checked his account, hoping for any clues, but found none. He locked the nursery and commanded the hound to guard the house. Then, Keta-ki set out to the room she'd rented. He asked everyone there about her movements and if shed said anything. When that got him no where, he went to the market.

He asked around, and several vendors said they had seen her. He tracked her down to a vendor with many ooman objects for sale. It had to be the smuggler she'd spoken to. Most of the objects were junk. Keta-ki came up to the table, and eyed the young female.

"Did an ooman female stop to buy anything from you?"

"Identification please." The female chirped.

"I'm not an arbitrator. The ooman was supposed to be in my care." He flashed a hologram ID in front of her, "I need to know where she is."

"Take off your bio mask please." When he complied, she said, "She spoke of you, told me to relay a message."

"Where is she? What did she say?"

"She said: Goodbye Keta-ki. Under better circumstances I would have liked us to be together, as mates. But if you can find me, if you can visit and bring Meketre, I'd like that. I'm sorry."

Keta-ki grabbed the females throat and walked around the table to shove her into the tent with him. "That ooman is important to me. She has a pup. She had family on Earth. If you've set her up, or out her in any danger-"

The female cut him off, remaining calm but clearly agitated, "That was the plan, for her to pay us, then turn her in. She was naive enough to fall for it too, but your account was frozen. She made a different deal, one we intend to honor."

"What deal?"

"Release my throat." She said tensely.

Keta-ki let her go.

"She pointed out the low value of our earthly goods, explaining that some items were mere trash. So we agreed to bring her to Earth if she could procure high quality goods. She agreed, and she is on her earth right now."

Keta-ki let out a fierce roar, but the female did not look effected whatsoever. "Once the clan knows she is missing, they will find her! What goods can she possibly get before then?"

"She is under our protection now. Technology will mask her DNA trace and smell. Jamming technology will prevent any face-recognition scans from matching. No one will find her."

Keta-ki stumbled out of the tent, feeling drowned in mixed emotions. She was safe, and on Earth like she'd wanted. He had wanted her to be happy, so he should have been proud of her. However, he hadn't been the one to help her and, their last hour together hadn't been pleasant. That very fact weighed down his heart.


	19. Chapter 19

The young female yautja caught his shoulder, "You seem to care for her, would you like to see her? I have access to the ships personal cameras, but the clan does not."

They went back into the tent, and she tapped her claws on a tablet before handing it over to him. A brief trill escaped him at seeing Zuri. She was sitting in front of the ships screen, gazing at the stars. A young unblooded male paced back and forth, purring at her as an invitation to mate. Keta-ki felt bad for the young male, as he wasn't getting so much as a fleeting glance from Zuri.

When he got home, he found that hunting hound had stolen a fur from his bed to lay on. It was a pure white fur with scattered metallic tips to some strands. The fur was short, dense and incredibly soft. It had been Zuri's favorite. Keta-ki scolded the hound, and ripped the fur out from under it.

The hound then tried to jump up in his bed, where it used to sleep with Zuri. Again, he scolded the hound. The animal got down but started to whine like it was injured. With the pelt in his hands, Keta-ki could smell Zuri's scent still on it. The hound missed her already too.

He thought that would be the last time he ever saw her, but then only a few days later, he got a transmission saying that the runaway ooman had been caught-by a traveling merchant. Blood coursed through his veins like lava. Keta-ki should have known better than to have trusted that female at the market! He had the option to attend the trial, or not. If he didn't show, they would likely chose to dispose of her. But, if he attended and they chose that fate anyway, he didn't know if he could contain an outburst.

Predictably, Keta-ki went to the trial-he just had to see her again. The room was large and richly decorated, and Zuri was restrained in the middle of it. An official judge was presented evidence by arbitrators and elders. Then, it quickly moved into the testimonials.

The older merchant that had been operating the ship went first, "She stowed away on the ship, hiding in the engine room. None of us knew she was there."

Keta-ki's hands gripped the armrests of his chair tightly. He stared at the male, trying not to flare his mandible at him in the middle of a trial. The male was lying, and Keta-ki knew it, but could but point it out without incriminating himself as well. If he ever saw the male in the market again, he would initiate a challenge, and beat the male so badly that he never came back to the city. He deserved it for lying, backstabbing, and illegal smuggling.

The unblooded, one of the merchants sons, went next, "She didn't put up a fight once we found her."

The arbitrators and elders seemed to like that, and Keta-ki hoped that because she hadn't resisted arrest that she wouldn't get a death sentence.

Finally, Zuri was interrogated and said, "I take full responsibility of my actions."

The judge and all the elders discussed the case briefly.

Then, Keta-ki was asked, "Would you take the ooman back into your custody?"

Keta-ki hesitated, unsure. She was reckless, a danger to his reputation if she tried to run away again. Keta-ki didn't want to battle with her if she asked him to help her. He had previously thought that there just wasn't room for him in her shattered heart after Uri. But he was afraid now that they were more of a badblood pair.

He reached a decision, "Unless she is to be terminated, no, I do not wish to have custody of her."

He wouldn't look in her eyes to see her reaction, but then Zuri's words surprised him, "I know I seem like an unfit parent at the moment, but I request that my child be relocated with me."

Zuri knew that he'd become attached to the child, and another escape attempt would not work with her caring for Meketre. "May I speak to the oomam for a minute?" Keta-ki asked.

One of the arbitrators gave a nod, and Keta-ki rose to go stand in front of Zuri.

She spoke before he could, "I know I've messed everything up, and you don't have to take me back, but I have to have Meketre."

"You were ready to abandon him before. What makes you care now? Do you think that the judges will lean in your favor because you want to raise the child?"

"I can't live without him, and I don't want to live without you either."

"But we are a second choice. Earth was your first priority and when that plan failed, only now do you want to raise your child."

Zuri shook her head, "I made a huge mistake."

"Admit it, your only mistake was trusting that merchant!" He hissed.

"He didn't turn me in, I did. I turned myself in."

Keta-ki didn't believe her at first, "Why?"

"I made a huge mistake. I wanted to go to Earth and forget everything, because I was falling for you. You were the one chasing Uri. You kidnapped me. You were the one that killed my mate, the father of my child. I hated you...but I still fell for you."

Keta-ki didn't want to be manipulated just because she didn't want to die, so he asked the judge, "What is her sentence? Is she to killed if I do not take her into custody?"

The judge seemed reluctant, but said, "The ship landed on Earth, but she did not touch it's soil. She is to remain unharmed whether she is in your custody or anothers."

Keta-ki turned to Zuri, "There, you are in no danger. Leave the child in my care and you can torment some other yautja."

"I know I've been a bitch to you, but I can make it up to you, I swear."

A yautja female was much more suited to his needs as a mate, but he was lured to Zuri like insects to light. He wanted her, but he wouldn't admit to her how much, "If I find you in any way unsatisfactory, your gone the next day."

Zuri bit her lip, looking sightly worried, but nodded.

"Let her out of the restraints; she is coming with me." Keta-ki demanded.

One of the guards clicked a button on his wrist controls, and Zuri was released from the cuffs. The chains clattered to the ground, and she rubbed her wrists before she threw her arms around Keta-ki's torso. He peeled her off of him to haul her up into his arms. Her legs went around his waist and her hands rested on his shoulders.

"Your not going to deny me your body any longer, are you?" He asked, leaning his face closer.

Her cheeks lit up red and she squeaked, "Everyone is watching!"

Keta-ki held her tighter, his mandibles spreading over her cheeks, careful not to scratch her with his tusks. His skin was heating and his chest rumbled with a purr that was more vibration than sound. He didn't care who was watching; he pressed his mouth to her pink lips. Her mouth carefully parted and moved over his teeth. Her hands went behind his head, lightly grasping at the base of his mahogany-colored dreds.

One of the arbitrators acted disgusted, "Is this case dismissed?"

The judge huffed, then addressed Keta-ki, "Do you accept full responsibility of this ooman and its future actions?"

Keta-ki pulled away from Zuri, giving her a warning glance before he said, "Yes."

"Case closed."

Keta-ki took her home, and she was eager to hold Meketre. As soon as they got in the door though, the hound wanted her attention first. The hound launched across the room, stuffed his face in her crotch, then excitedly snuffled and smelled her all over. Zuri was playfully shoving the animal away as she giggled. But then, the hound reared up to see her face-to-face, and ended up knocking her down.

Keta-ki growled, and grabbed one of the hounds short bony protrusions to yank him off her. Zuri sat up, and felt the back of her head. Her hand came back with a little blood on it. Keta-ki growled at the animal and scooped Zuri up. He set her down in the medical room and quickly healed her head.

"That hound is not an appropriate indoor pet." He scolded her.

"I just need to give him more commands...Your not going to make me get rid of him, are you?"

Keta-ki pushed her towards the nursery, "If he becomes any more of a danger, I will. And if that happens I expect that you will trust my judgement."

Zuri's mouth opened, probably to say some smart-ass comment, but she thought better of it. Her jaw closed and she walked to the nursery with Keta-ki and the hound on her heels. Meketre was awake and he lit up at the sight of her. His arms moved up and down excitedly until she scooped him up. She cradled him against her arms, cooing soft apologies to the child for leaving him.


	20. Chapter 20

Even though Zuri had been a pain, Keta-ki was glad to have her back. She had been selfish, irresponsible, and foolish, but those were ooman traits and a part of why he liked her over the yautja females he was used to. Keta-ki could see why other yautjas disregarded them as mates, and thought of them only as prey though. After all, in the beginning of their relationship, she had tried to kill him in his sleep after he'd saved her life. In the end, Zuri had made the right decision though, and all was forgiven.

Still, that didn't mean that things were perfect between them. Zuri was still just as combative as ever, but she was working on it. It took several minutes to convince her that the baby would be fine alone. The hound was there protecting the house, they weren't traveling far, and a band around Meketre's wrist relayed his movements to Keta-ki's wrist controls. He finally got her out of the house, but his new vehicle had her unnerved again.

She stared at the sleek two-wheeled vehicle, and murmured, "It's not even your child and your having a mid-life crisis?"

Keta-ki tilted his head at her and merely responded, "Get on." Keta-ki easily swung his leg over the shiny metal construction and situated himself in the seat, with his arms on the rests and his fingers at the controls.

"Oh no, I'm not getting on an alien motorcycle. They're beyond dangerous."

The engine surged to life, "It is safe. Get on."

Zuri crossed her arms, "I wouldn't even get on a moped with you."

"Trust me."

He could sense her growing fear, but she took in a deep breath, and hoped up behind him. Zuri locked her arms around him, and he could feel her rapid heartbeats. As the engine roared and the vehicle jumped forward, she dug her nails into him. The vehicle gained speed, zipping through the streets, and leaning at every sharp turn. Zuri hid her face against his back.

When they came to a stop, Zuri asked, "Are we there? I have my eyes closed."

Keta-ki purred softly, "Yes, and you are safe."

Because of how the events unfolded, Keta-ki had a debt to settle with the merchant. He helped Zuri off the bike, then walked her into the market. Theft was uncommon, as it was dishonorable, and so the vehicle was left parked on the side of the road without worries. At the trial he'd thought to beat the male for turning Zuri in, but now he had different plans. As soon as they reached the booth, the yautja male recognized Zuri.

He was instantly defense and drew out his wrist blades, "It was the ooman that changed her mind. I was going to honor the agreement."

"I don't wish to challenge you."

He didn't retract the blades, "Then why are you here?"

"You took Zuri to Earth without receiving payment or goods. I would feel dishonorable without offering you something in trade."

Finally, the male relaxed and put away the wrist blades, "I don't require any reimbursement from you. The elder at the trial rewarded me with honor, and invited me to a banquet with many highly ranked females. We are even."

Keta-ki gave a nod of thanks, and then it was back on the motorcycle.

Back home, Zuri had an admission, "They made sure to make it seem like I didn't leave the ship, but that was actually a lie. After I changed my mind, I ran to go get something first...I had them deliver it to the house and when we got back I hid it before you saw it."

He curiously watched Zuri go into the bedroom and get something out of one of the in-wall storage bins. She hid it behind her back until she walked back to him, then handed it over. Weapons were a yautja specialty, and Keta-ki immediately recognized it as an ancient atlatl-type weapon. It had a long wooden shaft used for throwing darts, and was a very accurate and fast primitive weapon. At one end, a small crocodile was carved out of the wood.

"My grandmother gave it to me. It's called a hul'che. Supposedly, my ancestors used it...but I know how yautjas like weapons, and you have a few other obsolete weapons and collectables, so I got it for you. Do you like it?"

Keta-ki examined the artifact. Zuri could have left the ship and gone to see her friends one last time, or said goodbye to her family. Instead, she had run to her house to get him a gift. A gift from a female was a rare and very honored occurrence to his species. Keta-ki had never had the privilege of gaining a gift from a female, until Zuri.

"I will set it among my best trophies."

Zuri beamed up at him happily. She was working up to be a devoted mate, but they still had many issues to work through. The yautja that had pushed Uri into crime had been positively identified. The problem was, the yautja could not be caught, and had disappeared along with a handful of experienced bounty hunters that had gone after him. Keta-ki was offered the full status of arbitrator, if he could find the perpetrator.

To do that, he would have to leave Zuri and Meketre for periods of time. He already had someone lined up to take Meketre in case something were to happen to him, but he would need someone to look after Zuri as well. Meketre would need to be trained too. To become an arbitrator was what Keta-ki had always striven for. He would only be gone for weeks at a time, then could return to his mate. When he mentioned finding Meketre a training master though, Zuri became distressed.

"I felt like I was making the hardest decision of my life, leaving him, and then I couldn't do it." Her fingers went into her hair, "Now, you want to hand him over to a stranger, to be trained? I don't get this alien culture!"

"On Earth, your pups attend school."

"Yea, but it's just for part of the day, then they are back. You are talking about some sort of military school, and he's so young!"

"We can have as much involvement in his training as we wish." Some pups were handed over as infants, then didn't return until after their chiva. However, with Zuri, he knew things wouldn't be that simple.

"How often can I see him?"

"Once a week should be enough."

"...I'll only be able to see my baby once a week?"

Her eyes were glazing over, but Keta-ki tried to remain firm, "Once a week you will see how strong your pup has grown, and see the skills he has learned."

Zuri held in tears, but he could tell that at any moment the dam would break. So he said, "We will discuss this later."

Keta-ki knew very well though, that he would not be discussing it later. Zuri was not stable enough for him to dictate how Meketre was raised. Becoming an arbitrator could wait, and he'd allow Zuri to keep this one pup. When she became pregnant again, offspring of his blood would be sent off to be trained. Until then, someone else could go after the badblood.

~Das ende~ (German for "the end")


End file.
